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Police Down Under Warn Against Using Apple Maps

posted on December 10, 2012


I thought this ‘issue’ had gone away especially since many in the US report that their Apple Maps experience has been more than just fine but apparently there are still some worms in the maps that are Apple’s.

Normally I wouldn’t even bother with reports of bad Apple Maps directions at this point. The furor has died down and people either accept their maps or are using the Google Maps web version for mobile (which many see as a major step down from the native app).

But when you have a police department issue a warning against using Apple Maps based on the need to rescue several people as a result of being misled, well, you gotta share that, right?

MacRumors reports

Police in Victoria, Australia issued a warning to motorists this weekend regarding Apple Maps after several travelers became stranded in the Murray-Sunset National Park trying to reach the city of Mildura using Apple’s directions.

Local Police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their Apple i-phone.

Tests on the mapping system by police confirm the mapping systems lists Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park, approximately 70km away from the actual location of Mildura.

Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the Park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees, making this a potentially life threatening issue.

Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception.

Oh boy, that’s not real good is it?

The upside is that none if those people died so Apple can be glad for that.

How has your Apple Maps experience been? Considering how pathetic the entire Google local ecosystem is (not the Maps themselves but the additional data that can make maps so valuable which is Google+ Local) Apple may have blown a true opportunity here to dent a stronghold of Google’s.

Any thoughts?


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  • http://thestoppedclock.blogspot.com/ Aaron

    I recall the old days when we used maps made of (believe it or not) paper – and it was not unusual to find out that a road marked on a map as a state highway was a windy, decrepit dirt road, or had been closed.
    I recall how mapping applications came online and made it much easier to find current maps, but that the data was still often quite old or out-of-date.
    I recall how Google Maps came to the forefront, with some remarkable technological improvements and, over time, much fresher data, but still at times get directed to destinations that are based upon outdated data, or faulty assumptions about where a particular street number will be on a particular road.
    Errors from data entry, use of old information, or corruption of data will inevitably occur. Companies correct their data as errors are brought to their attention. And that’s what happened here.

    • http://www.marketingpilgrim.com Frank Reed

      It depends on who you ask I suppose. One commenter in the original article had submitted a correction quite some time ago, saw no change and appears to be giving up. Data is corrupt and it is changeable but has Apple (or anyone for that matter) truly staffed and invested in the effort needed to make maps as accurate as possible as quickly as possible?

      I hope they get it together. Google desperately needs a challenger in the space so they can’t get away with some of the ridiculously stuff they pawn off as ‘products and services’ (most specifically Google+ Local).

  • http://profitswithjody.com Jody

    Wow Frank great post….Thanks for the heads up I never knew……

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