Photo: Iiris Celine on Google forums
Google Maps is a great navigation tool that drivers can use to find the best route to a specific destination, but in some cases, it can easily turn into a nightmare if inaccurate directions are provided.
And the living proof is what happens in Norway close to the Stryn municipality, with someone complaining on Google’s forums that the navigation app keeps sending drivers on a super-steep tractor road where cars eventually get stuck and need help.
“This week alone (it’s now Thursday) we have rescued 3 cars, last week there was 5 and one of the cars almost rolled off a 3m drop,” a message published on Google’s forums reads.
Poster Iiris Celine explains that the broken driving directions have already been reported to Google in July, but a change is yet to be made. The road is only built for tractors and horses, Celine emphasizes, and the property is damaged because most cars eventually get stuck while trying to reach a popular hike in the region.
“It costs us a lot of money and time as the road and property is being damaged, and we need to rescue cars very often,” Celine says, adding that despite all their efforts to restrict the access to tractors, cars still end up using the route because this is the way that Google Maps suggests.
“We have put up signs, but as Google ONLY shows this route, people remove barriers (only temporary ones as we need to pass with our tractor and ATV) and signs to get to their destination and discover 5 meters later that they are unable to drive and need rescue,” the post continues.
While drivers do risk their lives using this road, a fully paved route is also available to reach the same destination, only that Google Maps allegedly suggests the tractor one because it’s faster.
Most likely, it’s now just a matter of time until Google fixes the navigation directions and updates the road to indicate it’s not suitable for cars.
In the meantime, if Google Maps is no longer your favorite cup of tea, you should know that Apple's making huge efforts to improve Apple Maps, and the company has recently turned to Minions for more accurate map data.
“This week alone (it’s now Thursday) we have rescued 3 cars, last week there was 5 and one of the cars almost rolled off a 3m drop,” a message published on Google’s forums reads.
Poster Iiris Celine explains that the broken driving directions have already been reported to Google in July, but a change is yet to be made. The road is only built for tractors and horses, Celine emphasizes, and the property is damaged because most cars eventually get stuck while trying to reach a popular hike in the region.
“It costs us a lot of money and time as the road and property is being damaged, and we need to rescue cars very often,” Celine says, adding that despite all their efforts to restrict the access to tractors, cars still end up using the route because this is the way that Google Maps suggests.
“We have put up signs, but as Google ONLY shows this route, people remove barriers (only temporary ones as we need to pass with our tractor and ATV) and signs to get to their destination and discover 5 meters later that they are unable to drive and need rescue,” the post continues.
While drivers do risk their lives using this road, a fully paved route is also available to reach the same destination, only that Google Maps allegedly suggests the tractor one because it’s faster.
Most likely, it’s now just a matter of time until Google fixes the navigation directions and updates the road to indicate it’s not suitable for cars.
In the meantime, if Google Maps is no longer your favorite cup of tea, you should know that Apple's making huge efforts to improve Apple Maps, and the company has recently turned to Minions for more accurate map data.
Google News