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Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

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Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#271

Post by TheRealSteel »

Thorrez wrote: post #201
slickrick216 wrote: post #126

Google maps has marked my parents in laws drive way as a road. The drive way is quite long as they are on a farm. Due to a right of way for an owner of a field who owns an enclave within their land they can’t put a gate up. It’s quite unmistakable you are going into someone’s house though. This has led to countless individuals showing up and driving through their land past their home. Lots of people stop and ask for…

>I’ve done the whole google maps support thing but no response and deaf ears. You've used the suggest a change feature within Maps? I've done that several times and I think it always worked for me. Full disclosure I work at Google, not on Maps, and I always did the suggest a change with my personal account.

I've had the exact same problem, reported it, and been ignored. Not all of us work at Google.

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#272

Post by [deleted] »

paulmd wrote: post #245
gruez wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What regulator would have jurisdiction here? Are maps even regulated?

A very flippant "HN techbro libertarian" response. Pretty much everything that is not constitutionally protected as a right can be regulated, why would you possibly think that it couldn't? Yes, you absolutely could lobby for someone to write a law requiring Google to respond to nuisance requests from their navigation services. That is basically what DMCA does, after all. Hypothetical example law: OK, you have a good-…

[deleted]

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#274

Post by bbu »

When I was travelling the US for a few months I drove the old Mojave road. at the end you pas by some lava tubes[1]. about 30min before that place there was a stranded Ford Mustang with a couple in it. They got stuck in the sand, had no water, no food and no means to get out. The were on their way to Las Vegas and wanted to see the tubes. they just followed Google maps.

Another time in I encountered another tourist in the middle of nowhere in Nevada, totally lost. Again, blindely followed Google Maps.

In Death Valley I crossed tourists in a rented SUV who wanted to cross over the Lippincott Pass to get to the Racetrack Playa, again following Google Maps. I talked them into turning around, there was no way they were going to make it. Also, they were not prepared at all (no water, food, etc.)

In Ecuador, Google Maps lead me down a mountain road which turned into a mountain bike track. I made it out in one piece, it made for a good story[2] but it is pretty damn dangerous.

If you are in a remote area, always double check google maps suggested, eg. with an OSM based map.

[1] https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mojave-lava-tube

[2] https://www.bueti-online.ch/talks/overlanding-and-sre/

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#275

Post by globular-toast »

dawnerd wrote: post #253
hirundo wrote: post #34

Travelling from Durango Colorado to Reserve New Mexico, Google Maps routed me to a "road" that was simply a dry stream bed, in the middle of Navajo Nation, in high desert wilderness, many miles from human habitation. It happened gradually. First I was directed to a well maintained gravel road, then to dirt track, which forked and forked and slowly faded to nothing. I was driving a 4x4, had an almost full tank, a load…

This is why I desperately want a routing mode for 'easiest' drive. Surface streets only, no left turns onto busy highways just to save a minute, no weird shortcuts through neighborhoods, keep me on the highway. I've had so many times where google has had me drive through sketch areas of LA which ended up taking more time dealing with cross traffic. All they have to do is give up on quickest route.

I've taken to just planning my route myself. Common sense and a good map rules when it comes to navigation. At the very least you should check the route that has been calculated before starting.

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#276

Post by jsinai »

topspin wrote: post #31
dr_orpheus wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From this link posted in another comment it says "The two travelers - not dressed for extreme cold - evidently took a wrong turn and their car got damaged". So it does not seem to be because google suggested the incorrect route. https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/news/tragedy-in-yakut... Edit: It was pointed out in the comments below that Google maps does go on the correct route now. It is the same general road,…

2000 km of ice covered road in one of the most remote places on Earth. People freeze to death on well traveled highways, never mind Kolyma; a place legendary for its lethality. I suppose it's fine that Google is making refinements to obscure routes, but understanding the fate of these people is better informed by Darwin's insights than anything happening at Google.

Not necessarily. Google Maps takes algorithmic approach to identify roads and routes, but as shown by this account and numerous others in the comments, sometimes that algorithmic approach fails and needs to be corrected by human intervention. If it’s known that some roads are dangerous and if it’s not difficult for Google to obtain this information, then there is a responsibility to intervene.

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#277

Post by shrx »

bbu wrote: post #274

When I was travelling the US for a few months I drove the old Mojave road. at the end you pas by some lava tubes[1]. about 30min before that place there was a stranded Ford Mustang with a couple in it. They got stuck in the sand, had no water, no food and no means to get out. The were on their way to Las Vegas and wanted to see the tubes. they just followed Google maps. Another time in I encountered another tourist i…

We actually saved a man whose car was stuck in the sand in the Mojave desert in ~2014.

We were cruising through the desert in mid-August, well stocked up with water as everyone told you to always pack twice as much as you think you'll need, and mildly pissed-off by the gas price of the only gas station we've seen that day. We barely met another car on the whole journey through. It was late afternoon, we were about 30 minutes away from getting out of the desert and we saw a man waving at us at the edge of the road. We pull up and we see he is desperate, his car got stuck in the sand a few meters away. Together we managed to dig a bit under his wheels, gathered some flat stones and shoved them under the wheels to improve traction. After a couple of tries he was able to get the car out of the sand and back on the road.

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#278

Post by inetknght »

manigandham wrote: post #172
inetknght wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think most sane drivers would have bailed at the first turn off of the pavement. Why? If it's an area unfamiliar to them then it's very reasonable to assume that Google might know it better than you.

It's no match to human intuition and reasoning. Even if there is a route, it doesn't mean you're equipped to take it.

> It's no match to human intuition and reasoning.

Sure, you and I know that. But driving around with Google Maps in the city all year gives a false sense that it works great. Then when, once a year, you drive round the back of the mountain to visit Grandma you discover the hard way that Google Maps doesn't quite work so great.

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#279

Post by baybal2 »

paganel wrote: post #68
s0rce wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

huh, seems like there are numerous towns visible on the satellite/aerial imagery on the "old summer road". Are those towns cut off in the winter (by land)? Do they have an ice road? Seems unusual that travel is easier in the summer. In northern Canada summer travel is often not possible by land due to extensive mud and bogs. In the winter you can travel across the frozen tundra much more easily (although you need to…

It looks like their car (Toyota Chaser) was not fit for the purpose. I mean, looking at the car's wikipedia page I can see a city sedan that is definitely not adequate for off-road driving conditions at minus 40-50 degrees Celsius. Judging by a couple of photos I could find on Google Maps it looks like in the summer the road is barely accessible using vehicles like the famous UAZ-452, I'm talking about this photo [2]…

Well, types who buy cars like these[1] are usually not the type who cares. Those are mostly known as cheap cars for kids to put on 1 megawatt turbos, and giant spoilers on.

[1]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ONai65wZDk

Re: Google Maps changes a route after the drama of young people lost on a ghost road

#280

Post by buzer »

hodgesrm wrote: post #220
rabidrat wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or CNET reporter James Kim in 2006: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kim#Death

It appears that this and at least one other incident are why Google Maps no longer maps routes across Bear Camp Road, which is the most direct route from Grants Pass OR to the Oregon Coast. [1] https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Gold+Beach,+OR/Galice,+OR+97...

They do during summer. If you zoom into the Bear Camp Road, you can see that it currently says "(Closed Nov-Jun)". If you set your leaving time to July, you can see that the other route uses that road.
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