‘Uber’ driver left red-faced after being forced to ABANDON car when sat nav took him down a dangerous track
AN "Uber" driver was left red-faced when they got their car stuck on a dirt track, having followed their sat nav and was forced to abandon the vehicle.
The driver managed to get his Mercedes Vito minibus wedged in on the track on Saddleworth Moor, Oldham, on March 5.
He’d dropped off a late fare in Marsden and was heading back to Manchester but he followed his sat nav to return to the A62 which took him along a rocky track near Delph and he ended up getting stuck.
It is not clear if the driver was working for Uber.
The driver is thought to have carried along the rocky path until his car ground to a halt, trying to reverse back to safety before being forced to abandon the car and calling for someone to come and pick him up.
Walkers who came across the vehicle the following day initially thought the taxi and been stolen and then dumped by joyriders but the "Uber" cabbie had to reveal the truth when he returned to the scene.
Local Craig Hannah told the : "It's amazing the driver got that far because it was such a rough and very steep track.
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“Apparently, he had been working in the area late on Saturday night and was trying to return to base.
“A passenger did say he could drive down the lane even though there was a sign warning that it was unsuitable for vehicles. If you were local you would know the road is not passable but this guy was clearly out of town and didn't know.
"He got wedged about halfway down the lane and he couldn't reverse so he carried on going. He got so stuck he apparently could not get his door open.
“It was a nightmare by all accounts. From what we could see the back bumper was off and the only way to retrieve it will be to drag it back up the hill. The driver is a really nice guy who has lost two days of his livelihood. He was shocked."
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Help finally arrived in the form of a tow truck which had been called to pick up the minibus and a local farmer, along with his tractor, was put on standby in case help was needed.
The car will now be taken to a garage to estimate the cost of repairs.
Warning signs were put up by Oldham Council in 2008 after scores of motorists became stuck down the same dirt-track, having been guided there by sat nav systems.
Another local said: ''We heard the taxi driver was just blindly following his sat nav and got stuck. I would have thought the passenger he dropped off would have known the road was impassable.
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“Some people just don't learn from the old adage - the computer is not always right.''
The Sun Online has contacted Uber for comment.
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