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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

#51

Post by strenholme »

“Death by GPS” is an all too common problem when depending on tools like Google Maps too much to plan routes. This has been a common problem in the Mojave Desert in California: https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article25... (Edit: James Kim actually used a paper map)

I will use Google Maps to plan routes, but I will also use common sense:

• I will look at the route on the map to become familiar with it

• I will use street view to see what each turn looks like (street view is also useful to see if the road is which needs a 4x4 with high clearance and pure rubber tires which do not use air to successfully drive)

• I will memorize the map (making simplifications as needed)

• I will then use the route

If one just lazily puts in a destination and depends on their phone to do all of the work for them, they can and will encounter problems. One time, I was with a buddy who does that, and the route given to us was horrible, so I just looked at him and said “Ignore what your phone says. I know how to get there.” It ended up he accidentally left “do not use freeways” enabled.

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

#52

Post by meirelles »

Google Maps always do that in Brazil, it's so annoying.

It recommends alternative routes to "save" you a couple of minutes. Dirt tracks, unmantained roads and sometimes danger neighborhoods (favelas).

They should fix the algo to prefer the main roads and streets. At least give a configurable threshold. It seems quite doable with all GPS data/street images they have.

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

#53

Post by bww »

On more than one occasion while driving through Italy last year, Google Maps attempted to navigate me to the center of cities by driving through ancient, pedestrian-packed streets barely wider than the hatchback I was in—even as (I eventually discovered) most non-emergency vehicles are not permitted to actually drive there.

In one such instance, I didn't realize what was happening until I had spent 45 minutes inching past the chairs of patrons in tiny cafes not a foot from my side-view mirror to eventually emerge from an alley onto the plaza of a cathedral in the city center much to the confused looks of the passers by.

Even in well-populated, first-world cities it seems it's wise to take Google Maps' advice with some healthy skepticism.

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

#54

Post by throwaway0a5e »

s0rce wrote: post #45
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,…

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…

They're actually more connected in the winter for exactly the reason you stated. Locals do use the road though. These guys wouldn't have gotten as far as they did if the road wasn't in fairly regular use. This is a forested part of Russia and nature reclaims things faster than that.

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

#55

Post by ghaff »

varjag wrote: post #41
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…

Heh, I had a similar one in Northern Italy. What started as an offbeat paved, then gravel, road degraded into something best described as a goat trail over steep hillside. The worst thing is when you start having doubts it's too late: backing out is even more dangerous. AWD came helpful but still had a few white-knuckled moments there.

I can't say I've ever really had one of those but I find that Google frequently has what I like to refer to as "Oh, Google is in the mood for a country drive" moment. It will take you on a bunch of back roads rather than a major route, presumably to save 2 minutes (assuming you don't miss a turn). Which is particularly annoying in winter (like this morning!) when there may be snow and ice on said back roads.

The worst I've had, which wasn't really that bad, was when I was taking a friend to pick up a canoe in rural NH and they were on a snow covered gravel road. Google routed me on a long drive on said road. Which was OK but still slow going. When we got there, they guy sort of laughed at the direction we had gone and said we should have come in the other way which only involved a mile or two of said road.

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

#56

Post by abathur »

bww wrote: post #53

On more than one occasion while driving through Italy last year, Google Maps attempted to navigate me to the center of cities by driving through ancient, pedestrian-packed streets barely wider than the hatchback I was in—even as (I eventually discovered) most non-emergency vehicles are not permitted to actually drive there. In one such instance, I didn't realize what was happening until I had spent 45 minutes inching…

Just reading this gave me a hit of anxiety. Despite having never done so, I have recurring dream trope where I've naively driven a car into some place it was easy enough to enter, only to realize it was quite inappropriate.

FWIW, a few years ago Google Maps also gave me wildly inappropriate directions on the way to Yosemite (i.e., in Google's ~back-yard). I called it off when it suggested I start off up a dirt road that switchbacked its way up a cliff face in my mother's minivan.

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

#57

Post by s0rce »

ghaff wrote: post #47
s0rce wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar things happen fairly frequently if you ask for directions in remote areas, Google maps just directs you on long unmaintained old but officially mapped "roads" on public land. You really need to follow the land management agencies official maps to know the appropriate routes. Some paper maps (ex. Benchmark Road Atlas) are pretty decent and I've found worthwhile to keep in the car for these situations.

Once you get below the level of "real road," maybe best defined as well-maintained gravel road, databases get sketchy. (And even paved roads can be seasonal but at least these tend to have gates when they're closed--not that you can really count on lack of gates to mean the route is safe.) Once you get off the beaten track, you really want to tap into local knowledge if you can. Don't just trust Google or paper maps…

Yup, I remember when I was going to check out the 2017 eclipse in eastern Oregon I wasn't really paying attention to the paper map and we were in a truck anyways but google maps routed us on a much worse road than the other option which is shown on the USGS topo map and the Benchmark Atlas.

"wrong way" via Basin Creek & Umatilla Creek

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/44.2207582,-119.1331445/Rile...

"right way" via White Creek & Riley creek

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/44.2207582,-119.1331445/Rile...

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

#58

Post by ghaff »

strenholme wrote: post #51

“Death by GPS” is an all too common problem when depending on tools like Google Maps too much to plan routes. This has been a common problem in the Mojave Desert in California: https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article25... (Edit: James Kim actually used a paper map) I will use Google Maps to plan routes, but I will also use common sense: • I will look at the route on the map to become familiar with…

Except that tragedy involved a paper map.

Mostly, I don't sweat it so long as I'm doing something straightforward although I find routing tries to overoptimize.

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

#59

Post by anm89 »

I had a few similar situations while riding a motorcycle through Peru.

https://andrew-max.github.io/adventure/2017/03/24/huamachuco...

Google maps would reroute me around perfectly good highways because some goat trail somewhere was technically a shorter path although the reality was that they were 10x longer because of how difficult the terrain would be and if you were to brake down on any of those roads, you would immediately be in a survival situation, it was incredibly remote.

It finally happened to me although luckily I was able to find an isolated farm but it's not hard to imagine if things went a little bit differently it could have turned into a life or death situation

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

#60

Post by PurpleFoxy »

meirelles wrote: post #52

Google Maps always do that in Brazil, it's so annoying. It recommends alternative routes to "save" you a couple of minutes. Dirt tracks, unmantained roads and sometimes danger neighborhoods (favelas). They should fix the algo to prefer the main roads and streets. At least give a configurable threshold. It seems quite doable with all GPS data/street images they have.

Because then all the news and Twitter blue checkmarks explode after seeing google routes them around poor areas.
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