Frightened driver calls 999 at Dartford Crossing due to fear of tunnels

Frightened driver calls 999 at Dartford Crossing due to fear of tunnels Frightened driver calls 999 at Dartford Crossing due to fear of tunnels

A TUNNEL-PHOBIC driver called 999 after his sat nav wrongly sent him to the Dartford Crossing.

The unnamed Essex man, who is terrified of bridges and tunnels, raised the alarm after realising he couldn’t turn back.

He pulled over onto the hard shoulder at junction 1A of the Essex-bound A282 after he tried, but failed, to program his sat nav to avoid tunnels and bridges.

Kent Police attended after the man had waited for two hours, the Daily Mail reports.

An officer then persuaded him to sit in the passenger seat while he drove his car through the tunnel.

The driver is believed to have suffered a panic attack and called police at 9.30am.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: “Due to a phobia of bridges, the driver was unable to proceed but, due to his location, was unable to turn back.

“The force control room operator reassured the driver on the phone while a patrol located him and drove his car through the tunnel for him. The driver was on his way by 11.57am.”

Comments(12)

The Cowboy says...
1:05pm Wed 6 Mar 13

This is just utterly ridiculous. If your fear is so bad, then the least you could do is have a clear idea of how to avoid the UKs most high-profile river crossing. Relying on sat-nav defies belief.

This lack of road sense and ability to read the road signs is becoming a real problem for UK drivers.

Mattster says...
1:44pm Wed 6 Mar 13

But if they still had the accompanied crossing service it wouldnt have been an issue.

Rob-C100 says...
2:12pm Wed 6 Mar 13

How did he get into Kent in the first place?!

The Cowboy says...
4:04pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Rob-C100 wrote:
How did he get into Kent in the first place?!
Article is confusing, and doesn't make clear if it is tunnels or bridges this nutbag is afraid of. Maybe they were ok with the bridge.

sarahpinky says...
5:17pm Wed 6 Mar 13

It states very clearly he is afraid of BOTH bridges and tunnels......

Thurrock bus man says...
5:53pm Wed 6 Mar 13

As the Police drove the car for this guy, I wonder if he got through the tolls for free? lol

ardale lad says...
10:35pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Really should not have a driving licence should he.

ardale lad says...
10:45pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Beware these people are out there and frightened of the left hand lane too !

d_2da_ougle says...
11:23pm Wed 6 Mar 13

me **** sides are splitting people like this should not be alowed to drive **** nervous wreck, could cause a accident

ebagumtrebor says...
8:19am Thu 7 Mar 13

I'm really scared of work. Can the police come and do that for me.

PoorFleet says...
2:47pm Thu 7 Mar 13

ardale lad wrote:
Beware these people are out there and frightened of the left hand lane too !
They are many in number, they fear that they may need to overtake someone in ten miles time so it's best to stay in the middle...

people-power says...
5:05pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Perhaps it wasnt the actual tunnel that was frightening..But the toll price

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