Photo: Facebook
Following navigation instructions blindly is never a good idea, and one Honda driver figured this out the hard way after getting his car in a pond, all because that’s the route Google Maps suggested.
It goes without saying navigation apps, Google Maps included, are a great way to reach a specific destination faster, easier, and sometimes safer.
On the other hand, errors can always show up, not necessarily because a specific application isn’t working as it should, but due to the struggles even tech giants out there have to deal with when it comes to keeping data fully up-to-date 24/7. Just imagine how much data the Google Maps editors need to handle every day, and you’ll understand that sometimes errors do escape unfixed.
This is what appears to have happened in the case of Honda Amaze owner Shivaram Balajepalli who was driving in Andhra Pradesh, a state in the south-eastern coastal part of India, using Google Maps as a navigation app. The man says Google Maps sent him on an alternative route, which, judging from the photos he provided on Facebook, crossed through a pond with rather deep water.
Therefore, the Honda ended up stuck in the water with no way to get out until a tow truck was called in to pull it back on the road.
The pictures included in the Facebook post seem to indicate Google Maps sent the man on an unpaved road, so maybe coming across a swamp isn’t necessarily such a big surprise after all.
The good news is the car didn’t suffer any water damage, and after a quick inspection at a service center, it was back up and running.
At the end of the day, this incident is further living proof that following navigation apps blindly is always a bad idea, especially on roads you don’t know. And as a piece of general advice, if the sat-nav gets you off a highway and suggests a dirt road instead, that’s never a good sign. Unless you’re going off-roading, that is.
On the other hand, errors can always show up, not necessarily because a specific application isn’t working as it should, but due to the struggles even tech giants out there have to deal with when it comes to keeping data fully up-to-date 24/7. Just imagine how much data the Google Maps editors need to handle every day, and you’ll understand that sometimes errors do escape unfixed.
This is what appears to have happened in the case of Honda Amaze owner Shivaram Balajepalli who was driving in Andhra Pradesh, a state in the south-eastern coastal part of India, using Google Maps as a navigation app. The man says Google Maps sent him on an alternative route, which, judging from the photos he provided on Facebook, crossed through a pond with rather deep water.
Therefore, the Honda ended up stuck in the water with no way to get out until a tow truck was called in to pull it back on the road.
The pictures included in the Facebook post seem to indicate Google Maps sent the man on an unpaved road, so maybe coming across a swamp isn’t necessarily such a big surprise after all.
The good news is the car didn’t suffer any water damage, and after a quick inspection at a service center, it was back up and running.
At the end of the day, this incident is further living proof that following navigation apps blindly is always a bad idea, especially on roads you don’t know. And as a piece of general advice, if the sat-nav gets you off a highway and suggests a dirt road instead, that’s never a good sign. Unless you’re going off-roading, that is.
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