Satellite navigation systems for our cars are one of the technological advances which many of us now take for granted and which do enhance our lives.

However, over-reliance on technology can, at best, make us lazy and, at worst, end in tragedy.

The story of the driver who, in the words of the judge, relied too heavily on his SatNav, resulting in the death of a much-loved family man and a jail term for the offender, is a cautionary tale for our times.

This is an incident that need never have happened. In bad weather, and unable to see the road ahead, the driver trusted his SatNav which told him there was a stretch of straight road in front of him, and decided to overtake the vehicle in front.

What the navigation device could not tell him, however, was that a motorbike was approaching and the way ahead was anything but safe and clear.

Driving in adverse conditions can be a dangerous business, and motorists need all their wits about them.

This means relying on what they can see, hear and feel, and their in-built human common-sense – things that no machine, no matter how sophisticated, can yet replicate.

We regularly hear of motorists who find themselves in trouble because they have trusted their SatNavs, which take them along what might well be the most direct route but not necessarily the safest or most sensible.

But this is a real tragedy in every sense of the word, one that has destroyed lives, and all for the sake of putting trust in something that is designed to aid us, not lead us.