tails: A Place for Mastodon Posts

did you go back?

Every couple of months or so, in my day job, I get asked to "fix Google Maps". No, I don't work at Google... I eventually drafted up a "how to do it yourself" document so that people could lodge corrections with Google themselves...

There was a wide dirt road near my city in Mexico that appeared as “paved” for decades in printed maps, looks to me like some corrupt politicians in power back in the 70s skimmed more than just the cream off the top, all they managed was to scrape the wide road with no budget left over for the asphalt phase.
This road finally got paved around 15 years ago, since then the old map are now correct.

Google maps does not work well, try use

there’s quite a few like that
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-28/google-maps-sending-people-wrong-way-quairading-shire/103207090

“sign of the times”, as you do.

Well, if that isn't a message the whole world needs to hear!

Ah yes, a classic case of midlands madness.

I’ve had that happen at backwoods gas stations, I’ve always politely said thank you 😊

I mean paper maps had the same problem. That road going north from Arco, Idaho that cuts 150 miles off your trip?

so what did you do? Did you go back? I’m curious now!

I might have to start putting up some of these signs!

This is true of so many things

it’s right in so many levels 😅

was in Queensland heading back to Perth during covid. Had to decide which of the two roads into Western Australia we should take. Google suggested (and still does) the dirt road that goes via Warburton. It is shorter but needs permits and a decent vehicle.

There are quite a few signs like this across Australia.
Some even resemble official council signs.
I've even met property owners who regularly have to put drivers back on the right path after they have ventured into the middle of someone's place.
Relying on google in the bush is a very bad idea.

We've(USA) had issues with mapping programs, not just Google maps, routing people down rough two tracks who didn't have the skills, nor the vehicle, to handle those rough two tracks. Many mapping programs deleted those roads. I think they should have marked them as not available for routing.

This would probably be a good addition to 's images folder.

dont use google maps!

#Alt4You image description (you may be able to update your post to make it more accessible): “Google is wrong. Go back” spray painted on plywood propped up by roadblock hazard indicators in front of a long dirt road

lol city kids. The lesson: The terrain isn’t the data (map). #GroundTruth

LoL Here be dragons

Need one on my street. People put the suburb in and it takes them to the middle of the suburb. Yet the people want to go to the beach. Some even get out and start looking around for the beach. Instead they find a creek and oval. Not that many beaches where you drive to a base of a hill.

my sister's farm has a council right-of-way through it, has never had a road or even a grader along the ROW. For years google would show it as a route to the nearest town, extra fun when hwy blocked by crash & the clueless tried to blindly follow google maps

Y'know though, if you report a problem to Maps, they can and will fix it.
There's a closed bridge in a town nearby, it's been closed for almost 3 years waiting for state funding to repair it, but nobody, not even the town highway department thought to report it to Google, so Maps routed over it all the time.
I reported it, and 3 weeks later it showed up as closed.
It may be flawed, but it's dynamic.

Well, that's not a good sign.

this sign works on a number of levels