Funny, maybe not so funny, Google Map "detours"

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Last year we planned to spend a few days at the beach before checking into the Fort. We stayed at a place called Coral Sands RV resort in Ormond beach. As we came into Lake City headed to Jacksonville, Maps rerouted us onto a shorter route. I was not the navigator at this point and my husband and hadn't noticed the change. Anyway, at some point Maps told us to exit off the main highway we were on and make a sharp left. The exit didn't look major and I began to get nervous. The sharp left turned us onto a very beautiful tree lined road. We saw a sign, about 100 feet in from the turn that said. WARNING low hanging branches, narrow roads and possible flooding, with another sign saying road open. We also noticed a road blocker pushed to the side that said road closed. I quickly checked my mirrors and had 5 cars behind me and there was no way to turn the motorhome around. I began to panic, we had no choice but to proceed. For the next 12 miles we would be on what should have been a one lane road with Florida swamp land on either side, zero shoulder.  I crept along at a snails pace carefully watching each low hanging branch and hugging the edge of the road to allow on coming cars to pass. I kept hoping for a turn off but there were none. The road at parts was a bit flooded over and many turns were blind turns. Not a child in the RV made as much as a squeak. For 12 miles we journeyed down this road. Finally we came out to what I believe was A1A. All the tension drained from my body and quiet tears rolled down my cheeks. From that point on Google became "stupid google", like stupid Judy. 

What's your story??

[momof3kids-Yvonne 595]

Eeek. Glad you made it through that. 

 

[Seals 111]

Ours wasn't treacherous, just funny.  It was a few years ago and we were using our gps. We were in New Orleans and trying to get to Chalmette Battlefield National Park. We'd gone the wrong way because of traffic or something and were having our usual arguments about directions, whose fault it was, the boys were of course bored and wanted to get out of the car, etc. Finally the gps said the park was only a mile or so away.  We followed the turns and came to the Mississippi River and a sign for a ferry!  The park was on the other side. And so was the ferry at that point.

The gps had names for the voices and the one we used was called Michelle and one of my sons had nicknamed "her" Shelly.   So we had a lot to say to Shelly about that one. Although it was sort of cool to cross the river that way.  

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

38 minutes ago, Seals said:

Ours wasn't treacherous, just funny.  It was a few years ago and we were using our gps. We were in New Orleans and trying to get to Chalmette Battlefield National Park. We'd gone the wrong way because of traffic or something and were having our usual arguments about directions, whose fault it was, the boys were of course bored and wanted to get out of the car, etc. Finally the gps said the park was only a mile or so away.  We followed the turns and came to the Mississippi River and a sign for a ferry!  The park was on the other side. And so was the ferry at that point.

The gps had names for the voices and the one we used was called Michelle and one of my sons had nicknamed "her" Shelly.   So we had a lot to say to Shelly about that one. Although it was sort of cool to cross the river that way.  

Oh my word lol. Was the ferry expensive? Yes the directions fights Ha! 

[Specularius 102]

The Lower Algiers ferry for 4 people should have been about $5. $2 if they didn't charge for the extra passengers.

 

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

We again were on our way to Florida. As we were traveling through TN, "stupid google" said there was an accident up ahead and we should divert our current path. My husband looked at the suggested route and said it would save us possible hours. It looked like an easy route so we took the chance, along with 20 or more other cars. The route took us through a small town where a bunch of good o boys were standing around a few diesel trucks with Confederate flags waving above them. Now our new camper came equipped with an awesome new horn that plays Dixie Land. With a grin I told my family to watch this. I pressed the horn and Dixie Land was blasted loud and clear for all to hear. Those boys came jumping off their trucks screaming and cheering. My kids were cracking up. 

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

4 minutes ago, Specularius said:

The Lower Algiers ferry for 4 people should have been about $5. $2 if they didn't charge for the extra passengers.

 

Can you just take cars across or do they transport RV as well?

[mmfancipher 31]

We were on a freeway going through Kansas City when Google Maps said to exit, so we did.  Went through one or two stop lights and then Google Maps 

had us get back on the freeway it had told us to exit less than a mile back.  "Stupid Google"!

[Seals 111]

On 9/18/2018 at 9:55 AM, Specularius said:

The Lower Algiers ferry for 4 people should have been about $5. $2 if they didn't charge for the extra passengers.

 

Yes, it wasn't expensive and was actually fun.  But it did throw us even further off schedule (we were going to "make a short stop at the park and then head out").

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

On 9/18/2018 at 9:57 AM, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

The route took us through a small town where a bunch of good o boys were standing around a few diesel trucks with Confederate flags waving above them. Now our new camper came equipped with an awesome new horn that plays Dixie Land. With a grin I told my family to watch this. I pressed the horn and Dixie Land was blasted loud and clear for all to hear. Those boys came jumping off their trucks screaming and cheering. My kids were cracking up. 

That is brilliant!

I've had some "stupid Google" moments trying to navigate through Boston.  Boston is a ridiculous city to get around anyway - lots of alleyways and narrow one way streets and just generally a mess.  Then there are streets that just end, with the rest of the street being on the other side of the expressway. Apparently someone forgot to give Google that little update and "stupid Google" has had me trying to "continue" on a street that doesn't go anywhere more than once.

[keith_h 420]

2 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

That is brilliant!

I've had some "stupid Google" moments trying to navigate through Boston.  Boston is a ridiculous city to get around anyway - lots of alleyways and narrow one way streets and just generally a mess.  Then there are streets that just end, with the rest of the street being on the other side of the expressway. Apparently someone forgot to give Google that little update and "stupid Google" has had me trying to "continue" on a street that doesn't go anywhere more than once.

As an adult I came to appreciate what my dad went through driving in Boston. More than once he managed to get going the wrong way on a one way street and I would tease him about it. While I never did end up going the wrong way more than once the haphazard one way layouts took me back to the freeway or Chelsea (our target was the parking lot under Boston Commons). The funny part is I actually remembered having been on some of those same dead ends as a kid.

As to Google there was an article a while back where Google took a woman in London into the Thames River due to the road it told her to take not having a bridge. Yes you have to question the woman's smarts as well but Google should have know better.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

34 minutes ago, keith_h said:

As an adult I came to appreciate what my dad went through driving in Boston. More than once he managed to get going the wrong way on a one way street and I would tease him about it. While I never did end up going the wrong way more than once the haphazard one way layouts took me back to the freeway or Chelsea (our target was the parking lot under Boston Commons). The funny part is I actually remembered having been on some of those same dead ends as a kid.

Sounds about right!  Probably the worst Boston "stupid Google" thing is when you find yourself in a tunnel to the airport... and you do not have a plane ticket in your pocket. 

[Travisma 1,317]

2 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Sounds about right!  Probably the worst Boston "stupid Google" thing is when you find yourself in a tunnel to the airport... and you do not have a plane ticket in your pocket. 

Last time I was in Boston was long before cell phones and GPS.

You relied on old fashioned pieces of paper with colored lines on them, or got directions from some local that you could only understand every 3 words.

And even back then in the early 70's the traffic was insane!

[Seals 111]

3 hours ago, Travisma said:

, or got directions from some local that you could only understand every 3 words.

It's not too fah. Get back in your cah and go past the pahk and then turn by the bah.

(I've got lots of Boston relatives!)

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

3 hours ago, Travisma said:

Last time I was in Boston was long before cell phones and GPS.

You relied on old fashioned pieces of paper with colored lines on them, or got directions from some local that you could only understand every 3 words.

And even back then in the early 70's the traffic was insane!

Traffic is even worse now ... accents are about the same.  LOL

9 minutes ago, Seals said:

It's not too fah. Get back in your cah and go past the pahk and then turn by the bah.

Wickid pissah!

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

14 minutes ago, Seals said:

It's not too fah. Get back in your cah and go past the pahk and then turn by the bah.

And be sure you make the birthday potty....

[keith_h 420]

1 hour ago, Seals said:

It's not too fah. Get back in your cah and go past the pahk and then turn by the bah.

(I've got lots of Boston relatives!)

Now just imagine a kid who talks like that and listening to them about a year later after moving to the south. Would you call that a South Boston accent?

[Seals 111]

On 9/21/2018 at 6:08 PM, keith_h said:

Now just imagine a kid who talks like that and listening to them about a year later after moving to the south. Would you call that a South Boston accent?

Where'd y'all pahk the cah, bless your heart?

My Mom lived in NJ for over 50 years and never completely lost her Boston accent.  I've lived in the South for over 30 years and haven't completely lost my NJ accent, although I have been known to say "all y'all" instead of you guys.  

[tim5055 120]

While I am a huge fan of Google Maps and Google Earth, I have stopped using them for travel navigation for several reasons-

First, just like the comments here, it can sometimes lead you into difficult situations.

Second, Google maps relies on a good data source.  One would think that driving along an interstate highway you would keep a good signal, but not always.  We left home in the mountains of NC headed to Ohio to visit the DW's father.  Westbound on I-40 in the NC/TN border area and we drove right off the edge of the map.  We probably drove for 15 or so minutes before we got a signal again and the map reappeared.

We just picked up a new Fort Expedition with Apple CarPlay.  Really neat as the big screen in front of you turns into the screen of your iPhone.  What they don't tell you is that only "CarPlay" approved apps will utilize the system.  Google Maps is not approved, so you are stuck with the Apple maps.  They suck.

Before any long trip or any trip towing the camper I always review the route online before I go to avoid the white knuckles that Kristie had, but sadly have ended up there also.  I am always afraid of ending up on a two lane road and getting stuck where I can't turn around.

My new best friend is a Garmin dēzl 760LMT.  I'm going to steal their marketing material here:

Quote

dēzl 760LMT is preloaded with detailed maps for the U.S. and Canada that also include truck-related restrictions, such as bridge heights, and related information for most major roads and highways. Just enter your vehicle profile information (customizable by height, weight, length, width and hazardous materials) and find truck-preferred routes suitable for your rig and load¹. You can also enter multiple stops for more efficient routing. The onboard Trip Planner lets you create multiple-stop routes and plan and save future trips.

The devise allows multiple vehicle profiles so when we are not towing we can select car mode and it will ignore the height, weight, length and width restrictions.  It's real time traffic seems better than my old Garmin units and on several occasions it has warned me of slowdowns and closures ahead so I could select an alternate route.

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

3 minutes ago, tim5055 said:

First, just like the comments here, it can sometimes lead you into difficult situations.

We have a friend who did/does (haven't talked to him in a while) updates for GPS systems and unfortunately too many rely on county and state maps and those are usually a year behind in updates.  We had a situation where the GPS said to turn onto a county road, which ended up being a cornfield because the road was closed. When I got the county map for the area the road was still showing on the map as a through road.

The problem at DISNEY there are many gated public roads and the gates won't show on any system. BIG BEAR ? off of Western Way is a prime example.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

On 9/21/2018 at 6:08 PM, keith_h said:

Now just imagine a kid who talks like that and listening to them about a year later after moving to the south. Would you call that a South Boston accent?

Hahahaha.... actually a South Boston accent is a whole 'nother thing (and even harder to understand).

2 hours ago, Seals said:

Where'd y'all pahk the cah, bless your heart?

My Mom lived in NJ for over 50 years and never completely lost her Boston accent.  I've lived in the South for over 30 years and haven't completely lost my NJ accent, although I have been known to say "all y'all" instead of you guys.  

I lived in MA the first half of my life and NH the second. I say y'all all the time but I attribute it to having a bunch of southern friends and relatives... or that I live in Southern NH.   

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

My husband was on his way home tonight when he passed a Class A on our country road. He stopped to see if they needed help. Apparently they were towing a box cart behind them and the ball of the hutch snapped. We had an extra ball, so my husband got them all fixed up and back on the road. Curious, he asked them why they were way out here. Stupid Google lol. However in this case, thank you Google.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

16 hours ago, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

My husband was on his way home tonight when he passed a Class A on our country road. He stopped to see if they needed help. Apparently they were towing a box cart behind them and the ball of the hutch snapped. We had an extra ball, so my husband got them all fixed up and back on the road. Curious, he asked them why they were way out here. Stupid Google lol. However in this case, thank you Google.

Hmm... maybe Google is smarter than we think ...and a little bit psychic??