Has Google maps ever steered you in the wrong direction?

[Finklejag]

Well today it did for me. I had a 6 1/2 hour motorcycle ride home today. I didn’t need google maps because it was a straight shot on Interstate 5 from the north of Washington to the south of Washington. Only an idiot (me) would get lost. I was 3 hours into the ride when I hit the dreaded Seattle traffic, stop and go is NOT fun with a motorcycle. After downtown it clears up some and I hop into the car pool lane (motorcycles are OK) in this lane. I come up on Tacoma and all of sudden the car pool lane splits at a Y. I didn’t noticed the sign for I-5 south and took the left one since that’s the direction I was headed, nope, I got onto Hwy 16. I got off at the first exit and stopped at a gas station to fill up. I been traveling for over 3 hours and I was getting tired. I hook up my phone and open google maps and set my home address as the final destination.

Here is where the not so fun starts. It tells me to get back on the same hwy heading back the other way. So I start following the directions which leads me to surface streets in a city I never been to. I’m making lefts and rights and it feels like I’m getting farther away from I-5. I pull over and check to see where I’m at. I want to go east towards I-5 but google maps says heading west will save 13 minutes. Like a dumbass I go west. Next thing I know I‘m riding along the Pugent Sound, I’m like ***. It’s 85 degrees, I’m tired, I’m pissed, I just want to get back on I-5. I think it was 45 minutes later I finally got back on I-5. I have always used google maps without a problem. I even used it in Poland where I had to drive 4 hours to a small town and google maps took me there with no problem, small back roads, villages, you name it, but I arrived at my destination.

 

[DirectRejection]

The other day, Google Maps steered me to the intersection of Hwy 160 and Hwy 12 in the California Delta. There is ongoing repairs on the bridge there. I could not move for one hour. There is no excuse for better information not being presented.

 

[DemoFly]

Wrong direction? No

Suboptimal route? Yeah, sometimes.

 

[Dave Hess]

The other day, Google Maps steered me to the intersection of Hwy 160 and Hwy 12 in the California Delta. There is ongoing repairs on the bridge there. I could not move for one hour. There is no excuse for better information not being presented.

I thought Google maps shows traffic delays (red zones) ?

 

[DirectRejection]

I thought Google maps shows traffic delays (red zones) ?

Yes. I am a delivery driver subcontractor and use Google maps 10-15 times each day. There should have been real time updates, as well as obvious general information.

It showed nothing in this case.

I do not often go to Lodi, Rio Vista or Fairfield. There is certainly heightened awareness here now.

 

[Dave Hess]

Some say Waze is much better for folks like you that drive for a living.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Happens all the time! The most ridiculous was when I was close to my destination and Google Maps told me to turn left at the next intersection. Then it told me to turn left, then left, then left. I made several circuits around the intended destination before I realized I was going in circles (squares actually) and not getting anywhere. It frequently leads me into impassable road construction areas, os suggests some utterly ridiculous detour off the interstate and through the backstreets of some sketchy area. The absolute shortest or fastest route is often not the best one!

 

[99Saturn]

Yeah, had similar, usually related to projected traffic, shortest, fastest and maybe avoid tolls settings. Coming back from MA to NY a few weeks back there was a major accident and Google Maps adjusted to go around it. Detour was likely justified but ended up on local roads and one lane county route through CT rather than at least an option it looked like for a local two lane highway. Suspicious that the highway was a few miles longer but would have been an easier drive, and ultimately the accident but interstate route may have ended up faster, but was happy to get diverted to avoid the accident and standing still for 30 minutes or an hour.

 

[SaberOne]

About six ago, Google and Apple Maps both set me on a wild goose chase. I was just south of Tucson, so I plugged in Phoenix. That should’ve been very simple because there’s only one freeway and not much of anything else. Both had me going through a small town near Casa Grande. At the time I thought they knew a shortcut, but they were both wrong. Apple Maps had me totally jacked up.

Today, they both seem to be pretty good, but I use Apple Maps 95% of the time. The integration to the Apple Watch adds a lot more utility and ease-of-use.

 

[fdcg27]

I've had both wrong directions and inexplicably odd routings.
In areas you're somewhat familiar with this is not much of a problem, but in terra incognito it could be a huge source of frustration as well as a potentially huge waste of time.

 

[Number_35]

One thing to watch for is to make sure you select the correct mode of transportation.

If it's set to walking or cycling, the suggested route will likely not make for an efficient drive.

 

[PimTac]

They finished all that construction through Tacoma not that long ago. Over twenty years of mess. I have heard that the 16 interchange is bass ackwards when it comes to the lanes you want to be in to go where you want. They did that to get rid of the Sprague bumper car mess that was there before. If you haven’t driven it before it will mess you up.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Watch out if you are towing something or driving a rental truck. Google Map directions assume you are in an ordinary passenger vehicle and often take you winding through city streets that would be difficult or impossible when towing a load or in a large vehicle. They should have an option to stick to major highways and streets for those times. Even in a passenger car their chosen routes often become tedious with many stop signs, turns, etc. to save you maybe 2 minutes over the nearby easy route.

 

[incognito_2u]

Makes you wonder how we got by with just a Hagstrom Map 20 years ago!

 

[joekingcorvette]

Yes we were in Jamestown ND last week and tried to find the world's largest buffalo and the google maps couldn't locate it correctly. We were on our way back from a vacation in Manitoba Canada and had a funeral to go to in Jamestown on the way back. I have had other times when I had to drive quite a few extra miles to the destination. I use it as a guideline only and use my common sense if I feel the maps are misleading.

 

[PimTac]

Makes you wonder how we got by with just a Hagstrom Map 20 years ago!

They were updated regularly. When we traveled back in the day it was customary to pick up a new map at the Texaco station.

 

[DirectRejection]

Some say Waze is much better for folks like you that drive for a living.

I tried Waze, briefly. Google Maps is almost always good, including current accident reports. But when Google Maps gets you, it gets you good.

 

[AuthorEditor]

When we traveled back in the day it was customary to pick up a new map at the Texaco station.

I still carry and use paper maps all the time. The are invaluable for showing you a large area in reasonable detail so you can get the lay of the land. Whenever I drive to a new place I check out the paper map so I have a reasonable idea of the driving route in the first place. Also, it is a great mental exercise to memorize the day's route instead of blindly listening for commands from the navigation device. If you have the route in your head you will be much more likely to know when Google Maps is leading you astray.

 

[PimTac]

I still carry and use paper maps all the time. The are invaluable for showing you a large area in reasonable detail so you can get the lay of the land. Whenever I drive to a new place I check out the paper map so I have a reasonable idea of the driving route in the first place. Also, it is a great mental exercise to memorize the day's route instead of blindly listening for commands from the navigation device. If you have the route in your head you will be much more likely to know when Google Maps is leading you astray.

I do the same except I use Apple Maps on my iPhone to check the route for any traffic jams or closures. If the route is complicated then I use the onboard navigation which has worked well for me.

The problem here is that what used to be standard for freeways is changing. Right lane to exit the freeway and left lane to stay on. The engineers swapped this on the particular interchange the OP took. Traffic is usually heavy so it might be too late to change lanes once you realize that you are going in the wrong direction. Adding to that, the way to turn around is lengthy.


Edit; Go on a map to Tacoma and in particular the Interstate 5 / WA16 interchange. You will see what I am talking about. It’s a complicated mess.

 

[andrew_j]

Just Apple Maps sent my daughter who thought named road would get better but turned worse in an Acura sedan: