#drivingdirections — Public Fediverse posts

UPI: Google Maps glitch sends drivers the wrong way on one-way road. “Winona Drive residents said they discovered last week that the sudden influx of wrong-way drivers on the southbound street was a result of a Google Maps error that listed the road as northbound-only. The error was in place as early as April 29.”

UPI: Google Maps glitch sends drivers the wrong way on one-way road. “Winona Drive residents said they discovered last week that the sudden influx of wrong-way drivers on the southbound street was a result of a Google Maps error that listed the road as northbound-only. The error was in place as early as April 29.”

UPI: Google Maps glitch sends drivers the wrong way on one-way road. “Winona Drive residents said they discovered last week that the sudden influx of wrong-way drivers on the southbound street was a result of a Google Maps error that listed the road as northbound-only. The error was in place as early as April 29.”

UPI: Google Maps glitch sends drivers the wrong way on one-way road. “Winona Drive residents said they discovered last week that the sudden influx of wrong-way drivers on the southbound street was a result of a Google Maps error that listed the road as northbound-only. The error was in place as early as April 29.”

UPI: Google Maps glitch sends drivers the wrong way on one-way road. “Winona Drive residents said they discovered last week that the sudden influx of wrong-way drivers on the southbound street was a result of a Google Maps error that listed the road as northbound-only. The error was in place as early as April 29.”

Dexerto: California man uses elaborate drone show to help delivery drivers find his house. “To help with this issue, [Tom] BetGeorge programmed an army of drones to perform an extravagant light show to guide confused couriers in the right direction. In the viral video, the drones show messages like, ‘Wrong driveway, back up,’ ‘There you go, keep going,’ and ‘Over here’ with a giant […]

Dexerto: California man uses elaborate drone show to help delivery drivers find his house. “To help with this issue, [Tom] BetGeorge programmed an army of drones to perform an extravagant light show to guide confused couriers in the right direction. In the viral video, the drones show messages like, ‘Wrong driveway, back up,’ ‘There you go, keep going,’ and ‘Over here’ with a giant […]

Dexerto: California man uses elaborate drone show to help delivery drivers find his house. “To help with this issue, [Tom] BetGeorge programmed an army of drones to perform an extravagant light show to guide confused couriers in the right direction. In the viral video, the drones show messages like, ‘Wrong driveway, back up,’ ‘There you go, keep going,’ and ‘Over here’ with a giant […]

Dexerto: California man uses elaborate drone show to help delivery drivers find his house. “To help with this issue, [Tom] BetGeorge programmed an army of drones to perform an extravagant light show to guide confused couriers in the right direction. In the viral video, the drones show messages like, ‘Wrong driveway, back up,’ ‘There you go, keep going,’ and ‘Over here’ with a giant […]

Dexerto: California man uses elaborate drone show to help delivery drivers find his house. “To help with this issue, [Tom] BetGeorge programmed an army of drones to perform an extravagant light show to guide confused couriers in the right direction. In the viral video, the drones show messages like, ‘Wrong driveway, back up,’ ‘There you go, keep going,’ and ‘Over here’ with a giant […]

TrendWatching: Moogle Gaps serves up misdirections instead of shortest routes — and that’s the point. “Whipped up by two Australian ex-Droga5 creatives, Paul Meates and Henry Kimber, Moogle Gaps is an anti-wayfinder. Users input their navigational query as they normally would, but instead of the most efficient route from A to B, the app offers misdirections — or as its builders put it, ‘a […]

Vernon Matters: Google Maps showing incorrect routes around Aberdeen Rd. closure. “The District of Coldstream is warning residents about an incorrect Google Maps route around the Aberdeen Road Closure. The road is closed for the ongoing sewer enhancement work, and Google Maps is directing drivers to routes through private property and open fields.”

Vernon Matters: Google Maps showing incorrect routes around Aberdeen Rd. closure. “The District of Coldstream is warning residents about an incorrect Google Maps route around the Aberdeen Road Closure. The road is closed for the ongoing sewer enhancement work, and Google Maps is directing drivers to routes through private property and open fields.”

Vernon Matters: Google Maps showing incorrect routes around Aberdeen Rd. closure. “The District of Coldstream is warning residents about an incorrect Google Maps route around the Aberdeen Road Closure. The road is closed for the ongoing sewer enhancement work, and Google Maps is directing drivers to routes through private property and open fields.”

Vernon Matters: Google Maps showing incorrect routes around Aberdeen Rd. closure. “The District of Coldstream is warning residents about an incorrect Google Maps route around the Aberdeen Road Closure. The road is closed for the ongoing sewer enhancement work, and Google Maps is directing drivers to routes through private property and open fields.”

CTV News: Montreal’s Trudeau airport warns Google Maps is sending drivers to wrong address. “The Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) is warning that a Google Maps orientation issue is directing drivers to the wrong address.”

CTV News: Montreal’s Trudeau airport warns Google Maps is sending drivers to wrong address. “The Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) is warning that a Google Maps orientation issue is directing drivers to the wrong address.”

CTV News: Montreal’s Trudeau airport warns Google Maps is sending drivers to wrong address. “The Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) is warning that a Google Maps orientation issue is directing drivers to the wrong address.”

CTV News: Montreal’s Trudeau airport warns Google Maps is sending drivers to wrong address. “The Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) is warning that a Google Maps orientation issue is directing drivers to the wrong address.”

Donegal News: Council request Google Maps change misnamed Letterkenny road. “The name was coined in error by Google Maps a number of years ago, but much to the annoyance of locals, it has stuck, so much so that Donegal County Council have even referred to the road as the Grange Road…. This confusion has led to problems for delivery drivers, taxis and people who have recently moved to the […]

Donegal News: Council request Google Maps change misnamed Letterkenny road. “The name was coined in error by Google Maps a number of years ago, but much to the annoyance of locals, it has stuck, so much so that Donegal County Council have even referred to the road as the Grange Road…. This confusion has led to problems for delivery drivers, taxis and people who have recently moved to the […]

Donegal News: Council request Google Maps change misnamed Letterkenny road. “The name was coined in error by Google Maps a number of years ago, but much to the annoyance of locals, it has stuck, so much so that Donegal County Council have even referred to the road as the Grange Road…. This confusion has led to problems for delivery drivers, taxis and people who have recently moved to the […]

Donegal News: Council request Google Maps change misnamed Letterkenny road. “The name was coined in error by Google Maps a number of years ago, but much to the annoyance of locals, it has stuck, so much so that Donegal County Council have even referred to the road as the Grange Road…. This confusion has led to problems for delivery drivers, taxis and people who have recently moved to the […]

Waze Blog: Drive with “SpongeBob” on Waze. “The world’s favorite sponge is jumping in as a navigator for an open-road adventure! To celebrate the upcoming release of ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ in theatres December 19, SpongeBob is bringing his nautical charm, quick wit, and bursts of positivity to your daily drive.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/05/waze-blog-drive-with-spongebob-on-waze/

Phone Arena: T-Mobile just lost a customer forever thanks to a Google Maps ad that nearly caused a crash. “The author described driving toward a destination when Google Maps suddenly asked whether they wanted to add a stop at a nearby T-Mobile store. The prompt appeared in large alert-style lettering just as they were passing through an intersection, and they felt that any unexpected movement […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/28/phone-arena-t-mobile-just-lost-a-customer-forever-thanks-to-a-google-maps-ad-that-nearly-caused-a-crash/

Somerset Live: Tiny Somerset village bombarded by lorries as residents beg council for help. “Chair of Lullington Parish Meeting Gus Colquhoun said the trouble started around six months ago when Google Maps started advertising the village as a shortcut to Frome…. Since then, lorries have gotten stuck and been forced to reverse back through the village. Meanwhile, Grade II listed walls have […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/26/somerset-live-tiny-somerset-village-bombarded-by-lorries-as-residents-beg-council-for-help/

Weekly output: Google’s live lane guidance, Candela’s battery-electric hydrofoils

LISBON–I traveled here to speak at my ninth Web Summit conference in Europe via another EU city that I’m quite fond of, Barcelona. The Mozilla Foundation had the good taste to host its Mozilla Festival there and then provide me with a travel stipend to cover the event, so of course I was willing to start my Web Summit trip a few days early. Even though that left me little time at home between working a 15-hour day Tuesday as an election officer and then heading to Dulles Airport Wednesday afternoon.

11/4/2025: Safe to Go? Google Maps Adds ‘Live Lane Guidance’ for Polestar 4 EVs, PCMag

PCMag had two stories under my byline this week, and this was the one I actually wrote this week to cover an update to the built-in Google navigation in one of Polestar’s battery-electric vehicles. The other involved my editor updating a post I wrote in May about President Trump withdrawing his nomination of private astronaut and payments billionaire Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator, the new plot twist being that Trump had changed his mind again and had re-nominated Isaacman. I realize how confusing that last sentence can look. 

11/7/2025: This battery-electric hydrofoil could supercharge a ferry transformation, Fast Company

Two years after getting an introduction to the Swedish startup Candela’s battery-electric hydrofoil sport boats on the San Francisco Bay, I enjoyed an update of the experience on waters I know much better–the Potomac and the Anacostia. With a longer word count than I had for that PCMag report in the summer of 2023, I went into much more detail about Candela’s ambitions to get into the passenger-ferry business, its likely competition in that market, and potential obstacles to electrifying ferries.

#Anacostia #batteryElectricVehicle #Candela #cleanTransportation #drivingDirections #electricBoat #EVs #ferry #GoogleMaps #greenTransportation #navigation #Polestar #Potomac

CBC: Google Maps error shows DVP closed. City of Toronto says it’s open. “If you were driving around Toronto Saturday and checked Google Maps for the fastest route, you may have seen the Don Valley Parkway was closed. The only problem: it wasn’t.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/07/cbc-google-maps-error-shows-dvp-closed-city-of-toronto-says-its-open/

CBC: Google Maps error shows DVP closed. City of Toronto says it’s open. “If you were driving around Toronto Saturday and checked Google Maps for the fastest route, you may have seen the Don Valley Parkway was closed. The only problem: it wasn’t.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/07/cbc-google-maps-error-shows-dvp-closed-city-of-toronto-says-its-open/

CBC: Google Maps error shows DVP closed. City of Toronto says it’s open. “If you were driving around Toronto Saturday and checked Google Maps for the fastest route, you may have seen the Don Valley Parkway was closed. The only problem: it wasn’t.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/10/07/cbc-google-maps-error-shows-dvp-closed-city-of-toronto-says-its-open/

Yahoo News: Audi driver towed for 5kms after falling victim to ‘Google Maps trend’ in Aussie bush . “West Australian tow truck operator Shaun Barrett recently had to haul a hired Audi full of tourists some five kilometres down a sandy track after they followed the navigation app and managed to got stuck in uneven terrain.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/16/yahoo-news-audi-driver-towed-for-5kms-after-falling-victim-to-google-maps-trend-in-aussie-bush/

Yahoo News: Audi driver towed for 5kms after falling victim to ‘Google Maps trend’ in Aussie bush . “West Australian tow truck operator Shaun Barrett recently had to haul a hired Audi full of tourists some five kilometres down a sandy track after they followed the navigation app and managed to got stuck in uneven terrain.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/16/yahoo-news-audi-driver-towed-for-5kms-after-falling-victim-to-google-maps-trend-in-aussie-bush/

Yahoo News: Audi driver towed for 5kms after falling victim to ‘Google Maps trend’ in Aussie bush . “West Australian tow truck operator Shaun Barrett recently had to haul a hired Audi full of tourists some five kilometres down a sandy track after they followed the navigation app and managed to got stuck in uneven terrain.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/16/yahoo-news-audi-driver-towed-for-5kms-after-falling-victim-to-google-maps-trend-in-aussie-bush/

Yahoo News: Audi driver towed for 5kms after falling victim to ‘Google Maps trend’ in Aussie bush . “West Australian tow truck operator Shaun Barrett recently had to haul a hired Audi full of tourists some five kilometres down a sandy track after they followed the navigation app and managed to got stuck in uneven terrain.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/16/yahoo-news-audi-driver-towed-for-5kms-after-falling-victim-to-google-maps-trend-in-aussie-bush/

Yahoo News: Audi driver towed for 5kms after falling victim to ‘Google Maps trend’ in Aussie bush . “West Australian tow truck operator Shaun Barrett recently had to haul a hired Audi full of tourists some five kilometres down a sandy track after they followed the navigation app and managed to got stuck in uneven terrain.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/09/16/yahoo-news-audi-driver-towed-for-5kms-after-falling-victim-to-google-maps-trend-in-aussie-bush/

Android Authority: Here We Go is the non-Google map app I didn’t know I needed. “I went looking for a navigation app that respected me as a user. It had to be simple, and didn’t require me to sign in with a Google account. That search led me to Here We Go, a map app from Europe that has a lot of what Google Maps offers but without all the drawbacks. So I gave it a test drive.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/31/android-authority-here-we-go-is-the-non-google-map-app-i-didnt-know-i-needed/

NDTV: 3 Killed As Family Van Swept Away In River Following Google Maps Misroute. “The driver, relying on Google Maps for directions, unknowingly guided the van onto the Somi-Upreda Bridge, which had been closed for several months. As the van entered the bridge, it became stuck and was quickly pulled into the river’s strong currents, the police stated.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/28/ndtv-3-killed-as-family-van-swept-away-in-river-following-google-maps-misroute/

NDTV: 3 Killed As Family Van Swept Away In River Following Google Maps Misroute. “The driver, relying on Google Maps for directions, unknowingly guided the van onto the Somi-Upreda Bridge, which had been closed for several months. As the van entered the bridge, it became stuck and was quickly pulled into the river’s strong currents, the police stated.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/28/ndtv-3-killed-as-family-van-swept-away-in-river-following-google-maps-misroute/

NDTV: ‘Misguided’ By Google Maps, Car Plunges Into Pond In UP: Cops. “Four friends travelling from Meerut to Ambala to visit a temple had a narrow escape after their car, guided by Google Maps, plunged into a pond in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, police said on Thursday.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/22/misguided-by-google-maps-car-plunges-into-pond-in-up-cops-ndtv/

NDTV: ‘Misguided’ By Google Maps, Car Plunges Into Pond In UP: Cops. “Four friends travelling from Meerut to Ambala to visit a temple had a narrow escape after their car, guided by Google Maps, plunged into a pond in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, police said on Thursday.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/22/misguided-by-google-maps-car-plunges-into-pond-in-up-cops-ndtv/

The Hindu: Why Hyderabad’s roads look worse on online maps than in real life. “Inside the Hyderabad Traffic Control Room, a wall of screens show vehicles moving steadily along a major corridor. Yet, on a mobile phone, Google Maps paints a different picture — the same stretch marked in deep red, signalling heavy congestion that doesn’t match the live feed in the control room. Such […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/10/the-hindu-why-hyderabads-roads-look-worse-on-online-maps-than-in-real-life/

The Hindu: Why Hyderabad’s roads look worse on online maps than in real life. “Inside the Hyderabad Traffic Control Room, a wall of screens show vehicles moving steadily along a major corridor. Yet, on a mobile phone, Google Maps paints a different picture — the same stretch marked in deep red, signalling heavy congestion that doesn’t match the live feed in the control room. Such […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/10/the-hindu-why-hyderabads-roads-look-worse-on-online-maps-than-in-real-life/

NDTV: Misled By Google Maps, Car Falls Into Ditch Near Mumbai, Driver Rescued. “The woman was supposed to take the Bay bridge in Belapur, but Google Maps navigated her through a route beneath the bridge – leading to Dhruvatara Jetty. Unaware, she continued to follow the directions. Minutes later, the woman drove into the water.” She was rescued.

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/27/ndtv-misled-by-google-maps-car-falls-into-ditch-near-mumbai-driver-rescued/

NDTV: Misled By Google Maps, Car Falls Into Ditch Near Mumbai, Driver Rescued. “The woman was supposed to take the Bay bridge in Belapur, but Google Maps navigated her through a route beneath the bridge – leading to Dhruvatara Jetty. Unaware, she continued to follow the directions. Minutes later, the woman drove into the water.” She was rescued.

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/27/ndtv-misled-by-google-maps-car-falls-into-ditch-near-mumbai-driver-rescued/

India Today: Google Maps error leads car into stream in Kerala, elderly couple rescued . “An elderly couple in Kottayam, Kerala had a narrow escape after their car fell into a stream, allegedly due to incorrect directions provided by Google Maps. The accident occurred around 11 am on Wednesday when 62-year-old Josy Joseph and his 58-year-old wife Sheeba were en route to Josy’s friend’s […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/25/india-today-google-maps-error-leads-car-into-stream-in-kerala-elderly-couple-rescued/

India Today: Google Maps error leads car into stream in Kerala, elderly couple rescued . “An elderly couple in Kottayam, Kerala had a narrow escape after their car fell into a stream, allegedly due to incorrect directions provided by Google Maps. The accident occurred around 11 am on Wednesday when 62-year-old Josy Joseph and his 58-year-old wife Sheeba were en route to Josy’s friend’s […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/25/india-today-google-maps-error-leads-car-into-stream-in-kerala-elderly-couple-rescued/

PC World: Death by GPS: Study finds blindly following navigation can be fatal. “Classic examples of deaths caused by GPS include tourists who stubbornly follow the instructions of their navigation device and end up falling into the ocean or dying of thirst in the desert–hence the nickname ‘death by GPS.’ It’s also worth noting that navigation often relies not only on GPS signals but also […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/15/death-by-gps-study-finds-blindly-following-navigation-can-be-fatal-pcworld/

Times of India: Google Maps misguides, car drives into stream; 5 from Nagpur rescued unhurt. “Five individuals from Nagpur, en route to Tirupati, experienced an unexpected detour when their reliance on Google Maps led them into a stream near Gangupahad village in Jangaon. Driver Sravan, following the app’s directions, failed to notice the water body. Fortunately, local villagers witnessed the […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/07/07/times-of-india-google-maps-misguides-car-drives-into-stream-5-from-nagpur-rescued-unhurt/

Engadget: Google Maps falsely told drivers in Germany that roads across the country were closed . “As reported by a locally based journalist for The Guardian, drivers opening Google’s navigation app would see a swarm of red dots used to indicate no-go areas, which resulted in people looking for alternative routes that caused traffic pile-ups nationwide. The Guardian also reported that […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/01/engadget-google-maps-falsely-told-drivers-in-germany-that-roads-across-the-country-were-closed/

Driver misdirections: Why can’t Apple and Google read this sign in Arlington?

Machine vision has advanced immensely over the last decade, but Apple and Google’s map apps remain functionally illiterate when it comes to a big green sign at the top of an onramp to U.S. 50 eastbound from North Courthouse Road in Arlington.

That sign’s message is reasonably simple compared to some of the signage that I’ve seen:

NO ACCESS TO

     N Rolfe St
     N Rhodes St
     N Queen St

Those are the next three streets available at the next offramp east on 50, aka Arlington Boulevard, which starts just under 1,000 feet from the top of that offramp. The sign, apparently present since the reconstruction of this interchange in a less crash-inducing layout wrapped in 2014, is there to remind drivers that they have too little room to scoot from that left-lane onramp across three lanes of traffic to the right-lane exit.

Apple Maps and Google Maps, however, disagree despite presenting clear photos of this sign in their Look Around and Street View perspectives. Punch in driving directions from someplace west of that on-ramp to a location near that off-ramp, and these navigation apps will suggest this unwise routing as their first or second option.

I belated realized this error not because I was spot-checking directions in those apps, but because like a dope I followed Google’s advice—even though I should also know how to read big green signs by roads.

Realizing my mistake and Google’s led me to try to report the errant advice. But Google now makes that its own wayfinding adventure because you can’t report a problem in the Google Maps app for Android or iOS—you know, where you’d encounter incorrect directions in everyday use.

Instead, you have to recreate the directions in the desktop-Web version of Google Maps, click the “Details” link below the route and then click on the smallest text visible—the “Send Product Feedback” link at the bottom right corner—to see “Report a problem.”

To its credit, Apple Maps does let you flag incorrect routing in its iPhone app: Scroll down to the end of the faulty directions, tap “Report an Issue,” tap the step with the wrong turn, select the category of mistake, write your description and upload a photo if that can help make your case.

I’ve now done that in both Apple and Google Maps. But if this error really has lingered this many years, I’m not going to bank on getting a thank-you acknowledgment from either company next week. Or maybe ever.

#AppleMaps #Arlington #ArlingtonBoulevard #CourthouseRoad #drivingDirections #GoogleMaps #navigation #reportErrorAppleMaps #reportErrorGoogleMaps #signage #US50