(Travellers were directed to the red dot; the correct location is the purple dot)
Yesterday, Australian police alerted travellers to avoid relying on Apple Maps in iOS 6 after it led some people astray and stranded. Now, it appears Apple has fixed the error according to the Guardian:
The iPhone maker updated the given location on Monday following widespread coverage of the problem. A search for Mildura now points to the middle of the town in the state of Victoria. At the time of writing it also showed an incorrect location near the edge of the park called Mildura – but that does not show up in searches.
Murray-Sunset National Park is the second largest park in Australia and the erroneous location set by Apple Maps left travellers stranded and in a dangerous situation. With summer temperatures reaching up to 46 degrees Celsius, lost individuals were forced to walk through dangerous terrain to get cellphone signals to call for help. With no food or water nearby, it was a potential life threatening situation and some were left stranded for 24 hours.
Senior sergeant Stephen Phelan said there were “at least four documented cases” prior to Apple updating the maps error. Glad to see Apple responding so quickly–let’s hope we see major upgrades soon to Maps.
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So at what point does the user take responseability….if the gps says go here and you see a cliff do you just continue to drive off…last I checked most places in the world have these fancy things called signs
Agree with KJ. My sister and two small children ended up stuck in the mud in an isolated place in KS without cell coverage by following the GPS in her car. “The roads kept getting narrower.” Duh.
“Glad to see Apple responding so quickly”… Really? You really think they’re doing a good enough job? This section of the map got updated due media outpore. Apple should allow consumers to install Google maps rather then removing the application. Pathetic.
We know Apple likes to stay quiet when it comes to these PR disasters, sometimes for weeks.
For them to make a fix even in one day after a media outcry is unlike what they’ve done before. So that’s why we can say they fixed it so quickly.
Serioulsly, this Apple map is a disaster.
Reminds me of the episode of “The Office” where Michael Scott drives his car into the lake, because his GPS system told him to do so. I’d be curious to see what the signage was like in this scenario? i.e. did the people blindly follow Apple Maps without using any common sense and ignoring all signage? If so then obviously Apple isn’t entirely to blame. Although let’s be honest, this does clearly demonstrate how much of a disaster that Maps still is.
Also, I’m confused: “left travellers stranded and in a dangerous situation. With summer temperatures reaching up to 46 degrees Celsius, lost individuals were forced to walk through dangerous terrain to get cellphone signals to call for help.” How does this happen when one is in a car? Can’t a lost individual simply turn around? Or are these walking directions? Does Maps even have walking directions? Am I asking stupid questions here?
Also if cell phones worked for giving directions, how all of a sudden did they stop working, for making phone calls? Call me confused on this one.
GPS doesn’t need a cell signal to work.
Plenty of GPS’s long before apple sent people into wrong places…old news when it comes to any GPS
buy sygic or other independent GPS Map apps