Google is forced to fix maps after glitch send 40 cars including semi truck down dirt road, forcing sheriff’s deputies to rescue them
Google was forced to fix a glitch in their navigation system after several cars, including a semi-truck, were stranded on a dirt road, forcing the sheriff’s office to rescue them.
Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington said ABC4 News When drivers traveling to “Utah” do a Google map search, they end up in a remote area called East Mountain in Emery County.
It’s an ongoing problem where motorists – especially those from out of town – end up making an emergency call for help because they’re lost, stuck or out of gas, with most SOS calls coming in after midnight. Huntington said.
On Friday, an 18-wheel semi-truck carrying a 50-foot refrigerated trailer full of Red Bull got stuck in the mud after its navigation system took it to East Mountain Road. TThe driver and his truck were rescued, but officials noted this was “the worst.”
After the incident, the sheriff’s department, along with the news outlet, reached out to Google and were “super excited” to receive a response.
An 18-wheel semi-truck carrying a 50-foot refrigerated trailer full of Red Bull (pictured) got stuck in the mud Friday after its navigation system took it to East Mountain Road. Crews rescued the driver and his truck as it teetered on the steep hill
A map of the road before Google made the correction to their navigation system
“We use multiple sources to update the map, including community contributions, information from local authorities, Street View and satellite images,” a Google spokesperson told News4.
‘We have updated this route on our map and this should be visible in the coming days.’
Huntington noted that the issue had already been resolved before Google responded.
Google has changed the location of Utah’s PIN, and Huntington now expects fewer stranded motorists to call.
Emery County Sheriff’s Department posted signs on the road warning motorists not to continue driving if they followed Google Maps to ‘Utah’ or if they were not equipped for the terrain
On Friday, the sheriff’s office told motorists to avoid the area after the semi-truck incident, but once that was resolved they issued an update that the road had reopened.
On Monday, Huntington explained that before Google intervened, the sheriff’s department itself took steps to correct the problem.
The Emery County Sheriff’s Department posted signs on the road warning motorists not to continue driving if they followed Google Maps to “Utah” or if they were not equipped for the terrain.
“We had to take these steps to mitigate the problem, but to this day we have had no luck with Google,” he said.
Now that Google Maps has been repaired, Huntington expects fewer requests for help.
Huntington said, “We’re happy with that [travelers] won’t run into that problem again, it won’t damage their vehicles or cause any problems, and then we can preserve our resources in the most densely populated areas of our province.”