GPS/Google Maps/maps in general FAILS

[hbelkins]

Not sure there is an applicable thread already out there to discuss this subject. If someone finds one, feel free to merge.

Had a huge FAIL yesterday while out exploring. Many times, I have crossed the Licking River on US 68 and seen the old truss bridge down in the valley below. I finally attempted to drive down to it yesterday.

Going east on US 68 in Nicholas County, I ventured onto KY 1244, which is an old routing of US 68, then continued on the old route (Old Maysville Road) after KY 1244 veered off and the road continued as a county road. It's easy to see why the US route was relocated, as the route featured a steep grade and a number of hairpin curves.

When I got to the river valley, I discovered that the bridge was closed and it appeared to have been closed for some time. Google Maps didn't know this, however. It showed the road as still being open. There wasn't really a good angle for getting pictures of the old bridge, so I decided to go back up to US 68, cross the new bridge, and approach from the northeast side.

Google Maps showed (and this morning, official KYTC maps confirm) the existence of Fuzzy Bottom Lane, CR 1022, a half-mile-long road, so I opted for that route. It started out as a very narrow paved road but then turned into a very primitive road. I wasn't sure my two-wheel-drive truck could navigate the steep hill with very rough rock for a driving surface, and there was no place to turn around safely, but I made it up the hill to US 68, beside a barn after having driven a very primitive road.

I was surprised to see that this is, indeed, a county-maintained highway.

It was reminiscent of when I was in West Virginia and my Garmin Nuvi (with static maps that can be updated) tried to route me over a very primitive route, and then I found that WVDOT's official maps do indeed show it as a county route.

Other good examples?

[abefroman329]

I had a somewhat-similar experience driving from DC to Charles County, MD, where, rather than sending me down 301 like normal, Google Maps sent me down MD 210 for a ways and then over to 301 on a gravel road.

The Uber/Lyft driver apps were notorious for sending drivers down alleys.

When I take the Dan Ryan, Google Maps will often tell me to use the local lanes, even though (a) there's no traffic in the express lanes and (b) the speed limit in the locals is ten MPH slower than the express lanes.

[JayhawkCO]

When Glenwood Canyon is closed out here due to fires/landslides/accidents/etc. on I-70, it has occasionally routed people over Cottonwood Pass which shouldn't really be driven in a normal passenger car. I've never seen it try to route me over Engineer Pass or Black Bear Pass when down in the San Juans, but that would be entertaining. I have no problem driving Engineer in my Jeep. Black Bear gives me the heebie jeebies.

[hotdogPi]

The Google Maps Just Fucking SUCKS Now thread has become a generic Google Maps catchall thread. I feel like it could be merged unless this thread gets some things about Apple Maps, Waze, etc.

[hbelkins]

The Google Maps Just Fucking SUCKS Now thread has become a generic Google Maps catchall thread. I feel like it could be merged unless this thread gets some things about Apple Maps, Waze, etc.

I was intending it to be a catch-all for all forms of navigation. In this case, I had a phone signal so I could use Google Maps, and I didn't have the Garmin hooked up. In West Virginia, there was no phone service so I was relying on the Garmin. And in both cases, official maps showed there being a road there, but it was a RINO -- and yes, although I use that term often in its political context, here I mean Road In Name Only. Similar to Ralphie's description of his dad's spare tires, this road was a path that wasn't covered in grass and had tire tracks. But no one would look at it in real life after viewing it on a map and think it was a through, public route.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

This one is maps in general, including Google Maps: That A-129 (in Spain) extends East of Sariñena, even though the log clearly states it ends at A-131. At least the maps have caught up on the A-124 reroute, it wasn't built as originally planned.

[abefroman329]

Between the various rush-hour contraflow arrangements and the incessant street closings because f*** you, that's why, driving around DC was especially challenging.

[SkyPesos]

Repost from another thread for one of my Gmaps fails.

On the way back home from Maine last summer, the Google Maps GPS thought the US 1 to I-295 SB ramp near Brunswick doesn't exist. At first, they wanted me to U-turn to stay on US 1 SB (that's what that intersection before the 295 ramps is like), and enter I-295 SB at Freeport. This is when I started smelling Google's bs. After passing that point, they wanted me to get on I-295 NB and take the next exit on NB to get to the SB side. I didn't see any "Road closed" signs for the 295 SB onramp, so just got onto it. Then the GPS spazzed out, rerouting me on various routings (including thinking I'm coming from 295 SB trying to use the loop ramp in that direction for US 1), before finally getting the memo that I'm on the correct ramp movement. The "time remaining" counter also dropped by a couple of minutes from not using their unneeded detours.

[ibthebigd]

My Garmin GPS took me thru a creek in Powell County Kentucky.

SM-G996U

[GaryV]

A long time ago I was looking for directions to a soccer field that was located next to I-696. The directions had me go west on 696 to Orchard Lake Rd, get off, get back on eastbound, and then stop on the side of the road.

[webny99]

In terms of roads that Google Maps shows exist that actually don't: this bridge near the junction of NY 18 and NY 98, as discussed in the quote below:

I took NY 98 south [from the LOSP] to NY 18 (had planned to take CR 55, but the bridge over Oak Orchard Creek appears to no longer exist!?).

It looks like it was closed by June 2019 based on GSV. My guess is it failed a bridge inspection and the county didn't want to pay to replace it since the NY 18 and NY 98 bridges are only a short detour.

It makes sense in that respect - I was just surprised because it still shows as a through road on Google Maps, with no indication of a closure.

In terms of Google Maps routing on an existing road that's unsuitable for most traffic, that happened to us once in Vermont, attempting to approach Leffert's Pond from the east. From VT 100, Stage Rd to Elbow Rd started out seeming viable, but when Elbow Rd became Old Turnpike Rd it quickly deteriorated into essentially a very bumpy trail, and we didn't have a vehicle that could handle the off-roading. We ended up almost getting stuck trying to turn around, and chalked it up to a hair-raising adventure.

[Rothman]

This thread seems an awful like the other one regarding Google Maps.

[hbelkins]

This thread seems an awful like the other one regarding Google Maps.

Which is why I didn't limit it to Google Maps, but other mapping services and even printed maps.

Official maps of Owsley County showed a road connecting KY 2024 in the Mistletoe/Buffalo area with KY 2022 near the Saul community in Perry County. Those roads were not navigable in a 4WD vehicle when I attempted the drive about 20 years ago. The southern end ran through a creek bed.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I see some fake roads in there. In the example I posted earlier at least there is a real road that has even been recently improved, by the province of Huesca after a low intensity war between the region and the implied municipalities (basically, one party said the other was in charge of the road, in the end someone in between stepped in), and thus the maps are right in that there is a road, just not the route they claim.

[froggie]

In terms of Google Maps routing on an existing road that's unsuitable for most traffic, that happened to us once in Vermont, attempting to approach Leffert's Pond from the east. From VT 100, Stage Rd to Elbow Rd started out seeming viable, but when Elbow Rd became Old Turnpike Rd it quickly deteriorated into essentially a very bumpy trail, and we didn't have a vehicle that could handle the off-roading. We ended up almost getting stuck trying to turn around, and chalked it up to a hair-raising adventure.

Google Maps (and the people in charge of it who I'm pretty sure are NOT in North America) doesn't seem to understand what a Class 4 Town Highway is in Vermont.

[webny99]

In terms of Google Maps routing on an existing road that's unsuitable for most traffic, that happened to us once in Vermont, attempting to approach Leffert's Pond from the east. From VT 100, Stage Rd to Elbow Rd started out seeming viable, but when Elbow Rd became Old Turnpike Rd it quickly deteriorated into essentially a very bumpy trail, and we didn't have a vehicle that could handle the off-roading. We ended up almost getting stuck trying to turn around, and chalked it up to a hair-raising adventure.

Google Maps (and the people in charge of it who I'm pretty sure are NOT in North America) doesn't seem to understand what a Class 4 Town Highway is in Vermont.

Well, thanks, that's a big help now! 

In all seriousness if we do ever try again, it will certainly be from the Rutland side. It was a bit of an impromptu side venture (recommended by some family friends), but now that I have time to look at the satellite view, I can tell there's a paved road from US 7 to the reservoir.

[froggie]

When in Vermont:

Avenza Maps app ---> download Vermont Highways map from VTrans ----> Avoid the Class 4 roads.

[Rothman]

This thread seems an awful like the other one regarding Google Maps.

Which is why I didn't limit it to Google Maps, but other mapping services and even printed maps.

Official maps of Owsley County showed a road connecting KY 2024 in the Mistletoe/Buffalo area with KY 2022 near the Saul community in Perry County. Those roads were not navigable in a 4WD vehicle when I attempted the drive about 20 years ago. The southern end ran through a creek bed.

The parameters or intentions that you had have not resulted in a significantly different thread, unfortunately.

[hotdogPi]

By the way, here's an Apple Maps thread that I created in 2016, although it's not the only Apple Maps thread. https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=18050.0

[Chris19001]

When Glenwood Canyon is closed out here due to fires/landslides/accidents/etc. on I-70, it has occasionally routed people over Cottonwood Pass which shouldn't really be driven in a normal passenger car. I've never seen it try to route me over Engineer Pass or Black Bear Pass when down in the San Juans, but that would be entertaining. I have no problem driving Engineer in my Jeep. Black Bear gives me the heebie jeebies.

Black Bear is one way (for good reason) and rather dangerous for the unexperienced or with longer length 4x4's once you get past Ingram basin.  I've hiked a portion of the trail from Telluride, but I can't say I'd want to try that drive.  My guess is it is labeled differently in Google to not be picked up for directions.
:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Silverton,+CO+81433/@37.8954669,-107.7162546,18z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x873ee7f8d43e3f4d:0x68df382eb57dcb3f!8m2!3d37.811941!4d-107.6645057!16zL20vMHJjbnA

[CtrlAltDel]

This thread seems an awful like the other one regarding Google Maps.

Which is why I didn't limit it to Google Maps, but other mapping services and even printed maps.

Official maps of Owsley County showed a road connecting KY 2024 in the Mistletoe/Buffalo area with KY 2022 near the Saul community in Perry County. Those roads were not navigable in a 4WD vehicle when I attempted the drive about 20 years ago. The southern end ran through a creek bed.

The parameters or intentions that you had have not resulted in a significantly different thread, unfortunately.

In my mind, and this is admittedly just my mind, the other thread is more about functionality, while this one is more about data. Like, someone mentioned in the other thread the the numbers displayed with the measuring tool are too small now, and that wouldn't be something mentioned in this one.

[jeffandnicole]

My most infamous story with GPS routings is with the Uber app.  I was taking someone to the 30th Street Train Station in Philly.  I got on I-676 and followed the ramp for I-76 East.  When I got to this point  https://goo.gl/maps/mKi1nkpadPvujd7W9 , it told me to take I-76 East.  Figuring it knew something I didn't, I got on 76.  While in the tunnel by 30th Street Station, the Uber app dinged...and told us I arrived at the destination.  On the Schuylkill Expressway.  Here:  https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9563336,-75.1806015,3a,75y,198.41h,87.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHZeDl9Trtfa3QFWgMATLYw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 .  Luckily I knew enough to take the next exit, go around the city streets and get to the station the proper way at that point. 

Google Maps is going to have to add in a checkbox for avoiding unpaved roadways.  The past few trips it's led us on dirt roads.  In one instance, it was trying to route me to what I think was a construction pathway in a forest of trees, muddy, rutted, and at 11pm at night.  I could see my destination thru those trees.  I stopped, turned around and figured out my own way there.  But I guess Google way figured I'll save a few hundred feet, even though I most likely would've been stuck with a few hundred dollar tow bill to pull my car out of the mud if I continued.

[hbelkins]

Something I thought about with regard to this subject that hits close to home -- more than two decades ago when computer mapping apps were new (think DeLorme Street Atlas or MS Streets & Trips) my brother bought a copy of one of them. He emailed me a screen shot of the app with a note of surprise. Next to our driveway when we were growing up, extending back up onto our property, was an old oil field road. It was only used by the oil field workers to access wells and the old powerhouse, and was not a public road. The road became overgrown from disuse, then was cleared out again for a few years in the mid-1980s, behind a gate, before once more falling into disuse. When my brother checked out the homeplace on the mapping app, he was surprised to find the little one-lane oil field road we called "The Lane" on it.

This road has not been used since around 1990 or thereabouts, but some online maps and some GPS units still show it as existing.

[webny99]

When in Vermont:

Avenza Maps app ---> download Vermont Highways map from VTrans ----> Avoid the Class 4 roads.

Missed this earlier but very good to know. 

[CovalenceSTU]

A few years back when Highway 30 closed for a landslide, Google Maps began suggesting people drive on logging roads instead of the actual (1 hour longer) detour. If I remember right, they had to close that road as well because people were following the directions in ordinary cars and getting stuck or crashing.