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Google Maps Gets Lost, Refuses to Ask for Directions

maps.google.com — Google Maps just can't find the direction to an address, and instead keeps making U-Turns. See for yourself.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 22, 2007

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249 Comments

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  • enharmonix, on 10/12/2007, -5/+544"Okay, honey, now it says to make a left onto Stack Overflow... Is that it up there?"
  • rshu4you, on 10/12/2007, -3/+391NASCAR directions of course
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+299no, i've driven that route. it's almost exactly right, except you actually make 8 more u-turns.
  • celestial, on 10/12/2007, -1/+235Isn't this how you unlock secret mario levels?
  • RyeBrye, on 10/12/2007, -9/+232This reads very similar to the Google Maps for NASCAR:

    Turn left
    Turn left
    Turn left
    Turn left

    Maybe this could be used for some kind of street racing circuit?
  • MikeyisaFag, on 10/12/2007, -2/+170Mapquest directions for DC suck. Personally, I just like to pick up bums and have them direct me. I've only been robbed 4 times and stabbed once. :)
  • autoboy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+131Hey, google drives like my girlfriend!
  • bmartin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+107Interesting... if you change the street address from 1579 to either 1578 or 1580, the problem goes away.

    A slight turn is a turn of much less than 90 degrees. The software is trying not to confuse people who would think "oh, a left turn up ahead" and take a 90 degree turn at a 5+ way intersection when they're supposed to be taking a fork in the road. If you've never seen an intersection like that, I can post one for you. There's a notorious 6-way intersection where I used to live.
  • brianegge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+92This is true. Anyone who lives in NJ will tell you that numerous U-Turns are part of any set of directions. It's a technical marvel that Google can make any sense of the NJ roadways at all.
  • beaker16, on 10/12/2007, -3/+70Welcome to NJ! Now for 3$ you can leave....
  • tzmguitarist, on 10/12/2007, -2/+43Have you ever driven around in Jersey? This is how it really is when you are looking for an address. And God forbid you miss the jug-handle.
  • TortfeasorG, on 10/12/2007, -4/+40That's how it is in NJ... Left turns are illegal on most main roads...
  • CaptShmo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+36maybe this person lives at the bottom of a funnel?
  • haystacker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+37google is just looking for a way to get the hell out of jersey
  • Kronos6948, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34Damn..too many diggers live near me. Time to move.
  • zachblume, on 10/12/2007, -4/+35@inmatarian: But you said there was a bear on the left...so I went right?
  • AnteChronos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31Just be glad that Google Maps has no knowledge of barrel rolls.
  • spyder91, on 10/12/2007, -0/+30It only takes 3 minutes extra to take the trip making all of the U-turns compared to entering 1578 or 1580.
  • autoboy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+33If I don't have a girlfriend then who is this chick that keeps calling me for directions?
  • NewPunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+28Google doesn't lie, make the damn U turns and you'll be fine...
  • inmatarian, on 10/12/2007, -1/+28Slight Turn Left is what we used to call "Bear Left." It means that when the road forks at an angle less than 45 degrees, you pick the leftmost fork.
  • runningaround, on 10/12/2007, -0/+27In case they fix it:

    http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/4510/uturn4uh.gif
  • sldSquirrel, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30http://googlespins.ytmnd.com/
  • swooshonln, on 10/12/2007, -3/+29"But Google says turn right"
    "yeah I know hunny, but thats a boat ramp..."
    "Hahaha, you obviously forgot Google controlled the world and installed underwater tunnels for your desired destination."
  • SnapETom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25I live in New Jersey. Monmouth County. I dare you to find two neighboring major streets that are completely parallel or perpendicular to each other. For that matter, I dare you to find a street sign that's not completely faded to unreadability.

    And my God, who was the idiot that thought of this interchange:

    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Newark+Airport&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=40.709076,-74.177155&spn=0.013533,0.050082&om=1

    Compare it to LAX or even O'Hare. Those are orderly and logical. The roads to Newark Liberty is just a spaghetti *****.
  • SnapETom, on 10/12/2007, -4/+29This is New Jersey. The roads are laid out in such a ***** up manner that these instructions are probably accurate.
  • livejamie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/mappoint.asp
  • brendanc, on 10/12/2007, -7/+28And your bashing of him mentioning his girlfriend means you don't have one either? Honestly, why troll? It was funny. He said it first. You're jealous. Get over it.
  • Nytemare, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23Honey, there's no shame in asking directions.

    SHUT UP! I Know where we're going!
  • equusdc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20Just wait until someone tries these directions and is promptly shot on live television.

    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1400+pennsylvania+ave+nw,+washington,+dc+to+1900+Pennsylvania+ave+nw,+washington,+dc&sll=38.889964,-77.014933&sspn=0.034272,0.077248&ie=UTF8&z=16&om=1
  • foofightrs777, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18Heh I live like 10 minutes from their destination. And trust me...jug handles and u-turns in this area are more than necessary.
  • shappenfit, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21anyone who has ever been to trenton will understand why this makes sense. drive 1 mile down straight and the road will have changed names 14 times.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17When you use directions from any of the map services you have to kinda try to think like a computer that is trying to give directions. VERY often the directions call for an action just because the name of the road has changed. Going from NY to NC is basically summed up as "get to I95 and drive till your ass feels like lead". However, the mapquest directions show all kinds of "activity" while you are on 95 because the "technical" name of the road changes.

    I find the computer generated directions to be MUCH more useful when you are in a residential area. They almost always get those right.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18"problem is though, if you go to satellite mode, it's telling you to uturn in the middle of the freeway..."

    and in NJ, you might just have to do that!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17...
    166. Do a barrel roll 151 ft
    167. Do a barrel roll 482 ft
    168. Do a barrel roll 449 ft
    169. Do a barrel roll at Independence Way 0.1 mi
    170. Do a barrel roll 234 ft
    ...
  • enharmonix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Heh, it's the opposite here in Houston. We'll have 2, 3, or even 4 roads with the same name in the same part of town.

    Here's a map travelling down Ella Blvd in Houston: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Ella+Blvd+%26+FM-1960+W,+Houston,+TX+77090&daddr=Ella+Blvd+%26+Cypresswood+Dr,+Spring,+TX+77388+to:Ella+Blvd+%26+N+Sam+Houston+Pky+W,+Houston,+TX+77038+to:Ella+Blvd+%26+I-610+(E),+Houston,+TX+77008&ie=UTF8&sll=29.893043,-95.410423&sspn=0.207162,0.32135&z=11&ll=29.93292,-95.428619&spn=0.414157,0.6427&om=1

  • markp93, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17A wise man once said, "Two wrongs do not make a right, but three lefts do."
  • PrismSub7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16“Try a U-turn!”
    ---Peppy Hare 07/01/97
  • theballdredge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16not mine. there is not 'pull off to the side of the road and cry for 20 minutes because you missed that last turn' direction.

    additionally, there is no mention of fearing nighttime driving thus forcing me to do it if you might be out after dark.
  • pocketjoker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15That's how Jersey is able to keep people from leaving the state!
  • SnapETom, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15That's nothing.

    In New Jersey, the miniscule state that it is, there are SIX towns named "Washington Township." Three Franklins. Monroes, Hamiltons, Oceans.... are all names of different towns in different counties. This doesn't count the endless "Somethingville Township and Somethingville Boro" that is so prevalent in the Northeast. And there are plenty of towns that sound alike, too. Bellmawr/Belmar, Morristown/Moorestown. What the ***** indeed. It's like no one else ever did anything worthy of naming something here.

    Here's an incomplete list. This is only a list of towns that have websites.

    http://www.nj.gov/nj/govinfo/county/localgov.html

  • glocknine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13@bmartin

    "Interesting... if you change the street address from 1579 to either 1578 or 1580, the problem goes away."

    That's because 1578 and 1580 are on the other side of the street. Try changing it to an odd number and the problem remains.
  • danielwsmithee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12It all depends on the area. Here in Colorado Google Maps is about 2 years ahead of Mapquest when it comes to new subdivisions etc.
  • revmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10problem is though, if you go to satellite mode, it's telling you to uturn in the middle of the freeway...
  • treed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Dammit. The engineer lost his drafting kit and had to resort to a spirograph again, didn't he?
  • DJcrayon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Its funny, I was expecting the middle of Kansas or something, and its right in the town im in right now.

    Knowing NJ roads, and especially Route 1, these directions are pretty on the mark. What they don't tell you is how many potholes you are going to have to dodge along the way.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I've gotten crap directions from both. Worst was Mapquest for me, though. When I visited Chicago about 4 years ago, it tried to send me down a road that didn't exist anymore.
  • MikeyisaFag, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Reminds me of an old llink my friend sent me, it was between 2 cities in Germany, about 10 miles apart. But when you asked for directions, it told you to travel hundreds of miles through other countries. Good times.
  • SelfAbortion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@MikeyisaFag
    "Mapquest directions for DC suck. Personally, I just like to pick up bums and have them direct me. I've only been robbed 4 times and stabbed once. :)"

    I'd be interested to know what the ratio of Democratic politicians/Republican politicians are out of those 5 instances.
  • jawbreaker4fs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I like how it's free to take the bridge over into Camden from Philly, but you have to pay $2 to take it back the way you came... free to get in, pay to get out.
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