Following Google Maps directions in rural Tasmania and encountered this sign

(Originally published on mastodon.social: 2024-02-18)

This has always been the case. I lived on a road that did not go through, Google and Apple said it did, people would argue with me and I would say ‘I have lived here for eight years, go ahead I will see you again in twenty minutes’. The would come back twenty minutes later and be mad at me.

One day when I was really bored I looked through our city archives and found a map from the 1930’s showing the road went through(proposed, never happened). No other map did including the current city map, or my paper map.

The problem is the way Maps determines routes makes a lot of assumptions but there’s rarely, if ever, a human to correct it until it gets reported a significant number of times. It also tends to fine-tune the routes based on data from drivers. If enough drivers drive down a road and onto another road with Maps open, Google takes that to mean the road is open and the route connects.

In these kind of backwater, low population places, there often isn’t enough data. Not enough people driving down these roads with Maps open, and not enough people that encounter a bad route bother to report it to Google. So no human ever corrects it.

Yet another example of how terrible Google makes its services by refusing to hire humans to manage these things.

Sure there are rough edges, but I’ve got to say Google maps is one of the most valuable tools I use, I used it more days than not, and it’s free. I remember the days of printing out directions from MapQuest or having a whole map of the country you keep in your car. Modern map apps are kind of a miracle.

It’s been a good run. Now I’m bound to be influenced by the pay-for-prominence highlighted locations.

Time to try out some offline FOSS solutions!

There was a story of a guy whose property had exits on either side. Google/Apple/whatever picked up on his data and everyone started using it like a public thruway. He said he had to put up an earthen berm and wood fence (losing his own access to one side).

I know, but being a beta tester for a map sucks, and this road had a ’ dead end’ sign.

Do you happen to remember what the basis of their arguments were?

It was always the same, ‘Maps says this road goes through/ it’s a shortcut’.

It made me wonder what nefarious things they thought I was up to by telling them the road ended at a small tree covered hill.

I had to rescue people here in Ecuador as well. Two cloud forest roads on both sides were somehow connected magically! I mean it’s a road but not passable when any rain you get stuck in biggg hill mud slide shit. Believe me you can die, damage your car, etc. Ppl were there cutting off the last part of 10hours drive, 3cars with like ten kids no water food was dark already. Scary man how people follow Google maps. Openstreetmap was same and don’t worry by now my update there has been copied by Google somehow… I did mark as emergency so maybe then they share.

Thanks man, lo agradesco!

They were my own clients so was my responsibility but yeah it’s crazy they actually had a road on line from Pedro Cabro direct to Olón… MAYBE IF YOU HAVE A DONKEY (or good motorbike) jaaja

in Germany close to were I live we have an “official” sign saying “your navigation system is lying”

Image transcription: German sign saying “your navi is lying, no passage to the castle”

56 comments and nothing about the fact that you can submit edits to Google if the map is wrong

Submit your edits to OpenStreetMap instead. Fuck doing unpaid labor for Google; they can fucking pay somebody for it.

I have thousands of edits on OSM for over a decade, but people getting lost is less cool than spending 3 minutes trying to help people

Normally I’d agree with you but a lot of people use Google and driving for a few hours in the wrong direction in Tasmania can kill you. Fixing something like this might well be a humanitarian action.

this sign is the “humanitarian action.” fuck Google

I had to submit a trail edit 4 times to make it stick after many others had done the same already. You can only do what you can do. I always tell them they are liable for any incident if they have prior knowledge as if that would make a difference.

I did that once, they rejected it. Wasn’t until they eventually did another pass for updated photos did they update it.

I heard stories about that feature, apparently sometimes they accept the changes and then revert them again for some reason. Like sometimes the wrong information comes from the government that classified a dirt road as a highway and Google eventually reverts any changes because they trust the government data more.

You can have gravel highways.

Actually the second top comment is about that. 😜(yours)

Sir, I think you dropped this: \

LOL, not surprised. Google Maps has really gone to shit. Just like their other products…

They sent me down a non-serviceable back road in the middle of a snow storm. There’s literally no option for, “Stay on main roads, avoid back roads.”

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Following Google Maps directions in rural Tasmania and encountered this sign(files.mastodon.social)

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