SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — It happens nearly every day at the Campbell home in Southfield: Drivers follow their GPS down a private driveway, hit a dead end, and then drive straight across the front lawn to get to their destination.
Homeowner James Campbell says his property sits on a dead end off a dirt road, but his horseshoe driveway can be accessed from two different streets. Some GPS apps appear to show the driveway as a through road, and when drivers can't navigate around parked cars, they cut across the grass instead.
7 News Detroit reporter Brett Kast has the story in the video below:
"They're on the grass and then they pull right through, right where we're standing here," Campbell said.
Campbell has countless videos from his Ring camera showing it happening. With two children under the age of 5, he says the safety concern is real.
"The few I've been able to stop and ask 'Hey, what are you doing?' It's always, 'Well, my GPS said to go this way,'" Campbell said. "And I'm like, 'Dude, if the GPS told you to drive into the Detroit River, are you still going to drive into the Detroit River? It's obviously grass, this is obviously a driveway.'"
Campbell has posted signs at both ends of his driveway. He says every driver he has spoken to has one thing in common — they were following an app while driving for Uber.
In one encounter he captured on camera, a driver rolled down her window and said, "I'm an Uber driver and this is where Uber sent me. I apologize, sir."
Campbell says he and his wife have repeatedly contacted Uber and other GPS apps to report the problem, but nothing has changed.
"It's all, 'Go to the app, fill out the app' — well, my wife has done that multiple times. I've done that multiple times, and we're still getting cars driving through," Campbell said.
Uber told 7 News Detroit the situation is concerning and that the company is looking into it. Uber also said drivers are required to follow the rules of the road and posted signs, and that drivers are permitted to use third-party navigation apps.
"I just hope Uber fixes the GPS, whatever they need to do to get that working where it does not let this private drive show up as an actual road to get anywhere," Campbell said.
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