In the UK, a pensioner with just a mobility scooter and a navigation app turned a quiet Monday evening into a scene from a comedy movie. Out in East London, this unnamed guy took to the A13—a hectic 70mph highway linking Dagenham to Essex—following the digital trail laid out by his go-to Google Maps.
The A13 in East London is the last place you’d expect to see a mobility scooter, as it’s a three-lane road packed with vehicles. That said, he still managed to cruise along the side of the A13. The video catches him totally relaxed, staring at his phone like it’s no big deal, even with all the madness around him. And the reason? Google Maps told him this was the path to take.
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Navigation apps are like the modern-day compass, and Google Maps is the king for many, spitting out routes for cars, bikes, walkers, and even buses. But mobility scooters? They’re off the radar. These accessibility-focused rides, capped at low speeds, don’t work with the app’s algorithms. Google Maps probably picked the fastest path—right onto the A13—without realizing he was on a battery-powered scooter.
The police didn’t waste time. Around 9:40 p.m., they got calls about a scooter weaving through highway traffic. Officers tracked him down, gently guided him off the A13, and pointed him toward safer side streets. No one got hurt, no tickets were handed out—just a friendly nudge to stick to quieter roads. The Metropolitan Police handled it with their usual cool-headedness, but the whole thing sparks some real questions about tech and accessibility.
