Has Google maps ever steered you in the wrong direction?

I'm mad at Google maps right now after they put me in a one hour traffic jam. One hour to go 3 miles. I'm using Waze now.
 
I use the map on my iPhone. It stays current with the traffic situation and will divert to the best route. Better than Google or Garmin.
 
I dispatch service technicians, so I see them struggle with Google Maps on a daily basis. Sometimes the results are comical, sometimes frustrating.
 
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PimTac said:
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.
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Google Maps is generally very good for helping you out with stuff like that, but I still prefer a paper map for seeing the big picture before I get to that tricky interchange. Use both together to get the best of both worlds.
 
Finklejag said:
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 ******, 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.
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Did you zoom out a little on the route and visually verify the line representing the route was actually going to your home? I've had Google maps pull up a street name in a different state once. I wasn't paying attention and just clicked the first street name that matched. After about 5 minutes I realized it had like a 25 hour destination time for a 15 minute drive and pulled over to realize what happened.
 
I have resorted to paper maps if we are traveling somewhere unfamiliar. I cant count the number of times Google has messed me up.
 
himemsys said:
Did you zoom out a little on the route and visually verify the line representing the route was actually going to your home? I've had Google maps pull up a street name in a different state once. I wasn't paying attention and just clicked the first street name that matched. After about 5 minutes I realized it had like a 25 hour destination time for a 15 minute drive and pulled over to realize what happened.
Click to expand...

Yes I did.
 
Dave Hess said:
Some say Waze is much better for folks like you that drive for a living.
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AuthorEditor said:
The absolute shortest or fastest route is often not the best one!
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Waze seems to be better about "live" conditions but in my experience, it's routing sucks. It could be related to "shortest route" setting/option but way too many times it has routed me through residential neighborhoods. I guess map software doesn't know it's residential but I'd think stop signs at every intersection and 25mph speed limits would be a clue for it.
 
I use Garmin, and also paper maps or directions from the person I need to get to.

Google is all crap, including the search engine which severely limits the information it allows.

I use Firefox, Duckduckgo, garmin, and have no problems.
 
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