Drivers Blame Google-Owned Waze for Using Motorcycle Lane, Now Facing Jail Time

Indeed, the Google-owned company has struggled to make everything as accurate as possible, but from time to time, it still happens for the navigation instructions that it offers to be wrong.

And two Malaysian drivers claim this is exactly what happened in their case too, as they ended up on a motorcycle lane after Waze allegedly told them to go this way.

A car barely fits the bike-only lane along the federal road, and yet a video posted online a few days ago, and which has since become viral, shows two cars going from Kuala Lumpur to Klang being stopped by a bunch of motorcyclists who followed them on the road.

Both the man driving the Toyota Vios and the woman behind the wheel of the Perodua Bezza said they ended up on the lane after Waze told them to use this route.

Does this mean anything for the police? Not really. According to the local laws, the two drivers are now facing a fine of RM2,000 (this is approximately $480) or even up to six months in jail if they are found guilty.

Waze explains that that app sometimes indeed doesn’t offer the best route, and this could be because of a map error, the lack of correct traffic data for the selected destination, or incorrect information for the faster route that it generates.

“We always work to improve the algorithm of the system so it will suggest the optimal route. However, there might be better routes than the ones suggested by Waze. Routing issues like this happen because the system works on real time and average statistics,” Waze says.

At this point, however, it’s still not known if Waze indeed directed the two drivers on the motorcycle lane or this was just an excuse they turned to when they ended up caught on camera.