Leading article: Journey's end

A line has been drawn and people of common sense everywhere should be grateful. Robert Jones, from Doncaster, has been successfully prosecuted for driving with undue care and attention after his sat nav directed him down a bridle path, a route which left his car perched, Italian Job-style, on the edge of a cliff.

From now on, the excuse that "the sat nav told me to do it" will not pass muster. Drivers will be required to switch on their brains, as well as their gadgets, whenever they set off on a journey.

Of course, this might mean fewer amusing tales, such as that of the Syrian lorry driver who ended up in Skegness, rather than Gibraltar, because his system could not cope with the Rock's status as part of Britain.

But consider the benefits. An end to those bossy orders at junctions; a new sense of freedom and self-reliance on the open road. And who knows, the ruling might even result in a resurrection of the ancient art of map reading.