GPS error 900 miles: Grandma led on 2-day trip through 6 countries

A GPS error of 900 miles instead of 90 took a 67-year-old Belgian woman on a two-day trip through six countries. The original 900 miles GPS error story "Grandma follows gps to Brussels and only stops in Croatia" published by Nieuwsblad on Jan. 14, 2013, sounds quite unbelievable.

How can anyone be led by a GPS system (Global Positioning System) and make the error of driving 900 miles instead of 90 miles?

The 67-year-old Belgian woman who became the “victim” of the 900 miles GPS error told Nieuwsblad (which could be translated into “Newspaper”) that "Whether I do not think a little weird? Maybe, but I was just distracted and preoccupied.”

While Google’s translation is not quite eloquent, 67-year-old Sabine Moreau’s explanation of her 900 miles GPS detour is clear. She simply got “distracted and preoccupied.”

Sabine Moreau’s improbable journey began on Saturday morning in Hainault Erquelinnes in Belgium. She told her GPS system that she wanted to go to the train station in Brussels-North, which is about 90 miles or a one-hour ride away from her home. "I would pick up my girlfriend in Brussels-North," Sabine said.

Sabine Moreau set her GPS, entered the address, and began driving.

And drove, and drove, and drove.

For two days, Sabine Moreau followed her GPS system. Despite some GPS detours, the passing of hours, filling up the gas tank twice, and passing through 6 countries, Sabine Moreau drove.

"I had my GPS and set the address entered. And then I started to drive. My GPS did some hard and gave several detours that I had to follow. … Without thinking [I] just kept on driving. Hours at a stretch. I saw all kinds of traffic pass. First in French, then in German. Cologne, Aachen, Frankfurt ... But I imagined no questions. I just kept the throttle. "

After driving for two days and 1450 km, which is exactly 900 miles, Sabine Moreau arrived at her “GPS 900 mile” destination. She was in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

Other than driving and getting gas twice, Sabine Moreau said that she slept a few hours behind the wheel on the side of the road. She also caused a minor accident which didn’t interfere with her intended “GPS 90 miles” journey.

Sabine Moreau claims that she never realized that she went the wrong way until she was in Zagreb. "Until I suddenly came in Zagreb and realized that I was no longer in Belgium."

It didn’t take Sabine Moreau’s son or girlfriend two days to realize that someone had gone the wrong way. Sabine Moreau’s girlfriend had waited in vain for her friend to pick her up at the train station and Sabine Moreau’s son spent two days worrying about what had happened to his 67-year-old mother. As one can imagine, he had to expect the worst and was worried to death.

Today Sabine Moreau’s son knows how to prevent a future 900 miles GPS error or detour for his mom; disable her car’s GPS system. This way she won't end up again somewhere on the "Globe" by having been led 900 miles out of her way through the error of a "Global Positioning System."

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