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Google Maps Accused of Offering 'Potentially Fatal' Hiking Routes (cnn.com) 101

Posted by BeauHD from the watch-your-step dept.
Hikers looking to summit Scotland's highest mountain and other peaks in the area are being sent up "potentially fatal" routes by Google Maps, the region's mountaineering organizations have warned. CNN reports: The John Muir Trust said Thursday that growing numbers of people using Google Maps to navigate up Ben Nevis risk being directed via a route that is "highly dangerous, even for experienced climbers." Ben Nevis, a popular tourist destination, is the highest mountain in the British Isles, standing at 1,345 meters (4,413 feet). Although thousands summit it annually, climbing the peak is not without risks and deaths have been recorded on the mountain as recently as this year. "The problem is that Google Maps directs some visitors to the Upper Falls car park, presumably because it is the closest car park to the summit," John Muir Trust's Nevis Conservation Officer Nathan Berrie said in a statement. "But this is NOT the correct route and we often come across groups of inexperienced walkers heading towards Steall Falls or up the south slopes of Ben Nevis believing it is the route to the summit," Berrie added. Mountaineering Scotland also warned that a route suggested by Google Maps was "potentially fatal."

"For those new to hill walking, it would seem perfectly logical to check out Google Maps for information on how to get to your chosen mountain," Heather Morning, Mountaineering Scotland's mountain safety adviser explained in a statement. "But when you input Ben Nevis and click on the 'car' icon, up pops a map of your route, taking you to the car park at the head of Glen Nevis, followed by a dotted line appearing to show a route to the summit." Morning said that "even the most experienced mountaineer would have difficulty following this route. The line goes through very steep, rocky, and pathless terrain where even in good visibility it would be challenging to find a safe line. Add in low cloud and rain and the suggested Google line is potentially fatal." She also added that Google Maps suggested other routes which would direct users towards "life threatening terrain" when they sought to navigate the country's other high peaks, including the 1,062-meter An Teallach. "For An Teallach in the northwest, a 'walking' route was input into the search engine and the line offered would take people over a cliff," she warned. A spokesperson for Google said the company was looking into the complaints. "We built Google Maps with safety and reliability in mind, and are working quickly to investigate the routing issue on Ben Nevis and surrounding areas," the spokesperson said in an email. "In addition to using authoritative data and high definition imagery to update the map, we encourage local organizations to provide geographic information about roads and routes through our Geo Data Upload tool."

UPDATE (7/11): The BBC reports Google has in fact changed their Ben Nevis route "after fears that walkers may mistakenly attempt a 'potentially fatal' route..." The firm insisted its walking directions on Google Maps did not direct people to dangerous routes. However, its driving directions took people to a car park where a dotted line showing distance to the summit could be misinterpreted by users.

In future the maps will direct drivers to a visitor centre instead.
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Google Maps Accused of Offering 'Potentially Fatal' Hiking Routes More

Google Maps Accused of Offering 'Potentially Fatal' Hiking Routes

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  • just wait for self driving cars to make errors lik (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) on Friday July 16, 2021 @07:19PM (#61590049)

    just wait for self driving cars to make errors based on map data issues.
    And I don't want someone in CA being the map admin for an place 2000+ miles away.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Bodie1 ( 1347679 )

      That's why I stopped trying to update Waze. Some dbag thousands of miles away (probably in CA) locks changes and says, 'well this road is designated blah by the county, so "we" have agreed that means it should be marked this way.'

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by OzPeter ( 195038 )

      just wait for self driving cars to make errors based on map data issues.

      Where have you been ever since GPS in cars was a thing? Mis-routing through inappropriate locations has been happening for years . You don't need self driving cars for that.

      • As a note, I'd prefer "fully autonomous" over "self driving", as self driving would include things like automatic parking.

        The problem with misrouting through bad locations is that with GPS, there's at least a chance that the human will sanity check the data and avoid a problem. For example, there was a case of the GPS directing people through a closed ford - the water was too high, and people kept driving in.

        But if you investigate, even though they had like a dozen people drive in, the actual rate was unde

      • Came here to say that. The oldest case I remember is a driver in Germany who drove a BMW into water, because the GPS forgot to tell them to wait for the ferry.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          a driver in Germany who drove a BMW into water, because the GPS forgot to tell them to wait for the ferry.

          At least he could use the standard German excuse: "I was just following orders."

  • Real hikers use real maps (Score:5, Informative)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Friday July 16, 2021 @07:23PM (#61590075)

    USGS topo, ESRI topo, OSM outdoor, and whatever local maps are available from the local authorities of wherever you're visiting.

    Using Google Maps to go on a hike is like using a Leatherman to do surgery: sure a Leatherman kind of does a bit of everything reasonably well, but it doesn't do any single job particularly well.

    Also; real hikers prepare their route before going on a hike.

    • A Leatherman is quite handy during surgery .. no need to ask the assistant for scalpel, forceps, wrench, circular saw, etc.

    • If Cub Scouts (and 2LTs) can learn land nav so can everyone else.

    • Also; real hikers prepare their route before going on a hike.

      Watch out, you're about to make a No true Scotsman argument. :)

    • I just look at AllTrails and the trail recordings that other users have uploaded.

    • Also; real hikers prepare their route before going on a hike.

      What's a real hiker? Is it somehow more real to sit at a PC and plan, than to show up to a location and read the trail map?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tomhath ( 637240 )
      Casual hikers wouldn't be too worried about climbing a 4400 foot high mountain. They're all over the place where I live and none are especially difficult hikes. Most fatalities are people trying to pose at the top of a waterfall for a selfie.
  • ... is so fat and dirty/unpleasant, the directions you get from Google Maps are marked as a "potentially fatal hiking route" when people try to find her [body part].
  • Crossing the street is a potentially fatal hiking route
    • Mod up. Living and just being alive is potentially fatal. Skiing in travel insurance is rated as 'High risk' - not hiking, and don't confuse with mountaineering. One imagines going out on the ocean or for a swim at the beach is also potentially fatal, riding a pushbike in NYC, there is no end to it.Insert jokes about snakes, bears, wildlife and poison ivy. Inexperienced hikers probably get there, look up, and say that's too hard, and do something different. Just a bunch of scam artists trying to up-sell 'e

  • Going forward ... (Score:3)

    by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Friday July 16, 2021 @07:43PM (#61590149)
    Google will update Maps so this only happens if you're using an iPhone -- and they'll call it a feature. :-)

  • Wrong title! (Score:3)

    by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Friday July 16, 2021 @08:04PM (#61590205)

    Google Maps Accused of Offering 'The Hiking Route of Your Life'

    It could have been yours Slashdot but you blew it.

  • I wouldn't be surprised if that tool was exactly how the bogus routes were input in the first place.

    • There is nothing bogus about the route google is generating. The issue is that it takes you to a place from which you can walk on a route that is dangerous. Which is saying basically nothing.

  • They're usually pretty good, but they occasionally route you through quite dangerous situations.

    There's a rotary (roundabout) near my house that's quite large -- some 500 feet across, which in addition to connecting to four local streets also passes under a highway, which it has on and off ramps connected to the rotary in both directions. Cars travel on the rotary at highway speeds, but because it passes under the highway forward visibility is limited. To get around the rotary on a bike you have to cross [goo.gl]

    • As I was reading your post, I was thinking of a rotary near me that is very similar, and that has been treacherous even in a car since they changed the lane configuration a few years ago... and then I clicked your link and saw that it was the same one I had in my mind! Especially alarming since the REI right off of it is where I get most of my gear. Glad to know that Google would route over it... I have not biked there yet, but would probably go up Walnut Street; the problem is that then you have to go pr

  • If trusting an algorithm generated route gets you killed that is actually your fault.
    • Well yeah, but the problem is it also puts the lives of the mountain rescuers at risk, which is more of a problem. Mountain rescue doesn't work on the basis of determining fault and allocating resources accordingly.

  • Google is not at fault here. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by w0mprat ( 1317953 ) on Friday July 16, 2021 @08:13PM (#61590237)
    As a reasonably experienced outdoorsman I've heard it said, mountaineering is a self-cleaning oven. If you are attempting to summit a peak with zero experience and zero idea of how to gauge the risks as you walk through them, Google is not the problem. Even without google inexperienced hikers get themselves into trouble all the time. And then there's people who've googled something and suddenly consider themselves an expert. Frankly even high quality trail and route information is often not accurate and conditions can change especially after weather events. There's no avoiding due diligence on those wanting to head into the outdoors, you need to seek up to date information on conditions and even talk to people on their way back down - they'll tell you what's up. It's up to the individual to not have a confidence level mismatched to their ability and knowledge level. Google should strive improve their information of course and put some warnings in, but beyond reasonable steps that they are not accountable for stupidity. But if google introduced information on the relative grade of a route then that's a whole new can of worms where the grade might be incorrect. That is certainly something should not do.

    • Re:Google is not at fault here. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot.worf@net> on Friday July 16, 2021 @10:35PM (#61590519)

      Say that someone who works in SAR.

      Because far too many wannabe hikers set up and get lost all the time, most of them inadequately prepared (flip flops, anyone? Started hiking in a T-shirt and shorts, etc).

      You see, when the inept get in trouble, they call for help on their phone, almost always down to the single percent of battery left. It's left to the trained (and often volunteer) SAR teams to go and find those people.

      It's not the inept "google experts" we care about, it's the SAR personnel those inept people are putting into jeopardy by forcing a search and rescue often in dismal conditions. These people are putting their lives on the line because someone saw a trail in Google maps and decided "Let's do it!".

      Often people are lulled into complacency because urban trails are plentiful - go to your park for a hike and follow the trail and it's easy and you're in cell coverage the whole time, plus you're really not that far away from civilization - you might end up at the wrong exit, but that's just an Uber ride away to fix, if you don't want to walk around the perimeter.

      • It's not the inept "google experts" we care about, it's the SAR personnel those inept people are putting into jeopardy by forcing a search and rescue often in dismal conditions. These people are putting their lives on the line because someone saw a trail in Google maps and decided "Let's do it!".

        Sorry but as a first responder myself I don't get this comment. These personnel choose to do this, that is their career. SAR it's in the damn acronym. Bad conditions lead to cases where SAR are called in. The only people you should care about are the people who don't like searching and rescuing people in dismal conditions but are too dumb to change careers.

        At least first responders still care.

        Sure call stupid people stupid, because they deserve to be called stupid. But your use of the word "care" is borderl

  • Dumb people have been misusing technology to their peril since the dawn of time.

  • But shouldnt they hire a Sherpa to guide them up?

  • I'm pretty sure Google didn't put those routes there. Their little camera cars can't reach there and I doubt they have a budget to send staff up all the world's mountains. Isn't it likely that those routes were created by ordinary users? Does it make sense to blame Google for that?

    Pour another brandy, light a nice cigar, then sit back and relax. That's better! No need to rant against evil Google at every silly accusation. Now about those naughty teenagers who put the prank routes on the map; maybe they need

  • Did they do it on purpose? This fud sounds like it is funded by competitors.

  • Idiots (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Fucking idiots. Even well established trails that are normally safe can become dangerous in some situations. If you are relying on your phone for directions while hiking, you shouldn't be hiking.
  • I thought hiking type routes were contributed by the populace, how can they possibly be auto-generated?

    If it looks too hard for your skill turn back. Before going find an official map. Many parks and attractions have a website with an official trail map to download a PDF. I always have that open on the phone to corroborate google maps.

    Caveat: I don't climb, I just walk, I know my limitations.
  • In this case you paid by looking at ads.

  • Merely crossing the street is a potentially fatal hiking route.. Actually crossing the street in general is probably riskier than these hiking routes in question.. Sad that we are not taking our own personal responsibility in the world and leaving it in the hands of some device.

    • Actually crossing the street in general is probably riskier than these hiking routes in question..

      Citation needed. Did you pull the numbers out of your ass or did you actually crunch numbers of the total number of pedestrians crossing streets/getting injured vs people climbing Ben Nevis/getting injured?

      You show a total lack of comprehension. Crossing the street might get you run over but you know the danger, can often estimate if it is safe to cross and the time you spend on the street is quite short. Comparing it to climbing a Ben Nevis where there are multiple dangers, most which aren't immediately ob

  • This is like saying GPS killed James Kim of CNET and TechTV.

  • Google Maps are for driving on modern roads (Score:3)

    by couchslug ( 175151 ) on Friday July 16, 2021 @11:58PM (#61590625)

    That is all. Wanting them to be more than that is fucking stupid.

    If you want to hike, learn to do it properly, and that very much includes land nav with a paper map and compass which is not difficult. Google satellite view can be useful but reliance on electronics while hiking is a crutch. Modern hiking GPS are certainly useful supplements but the military teach land nav for very good reasons. If you can afford to go hiking you can afford to buy or print a topo map (don't forget to laminate it!) beforehand.

    Children were orienteering long before there was an internet and besides being great fun involves more observation of those rural surroundings one supposedly hikes to enjoy in the first place.

    https://www.scoutadventures.or... [scoutadventures.org.uk]

    • If you want to hike, learn to do it properly

      I think there's a bigger problem here. Namely the car park does not clearly sign the correct path to the summit. There's a danger sign saying conditions are bad, but no alternative to people who don't know what they are in for.

      Much of the world is not about incredible mountaineering but simple hiking to get to amazing destinations. This is no different. You don't need to plan, you don't need to be some amazing mountaineer to get up there. There's a damn visitor centre, a carpark and a relatively simple trai

  • There are lots of hiking trails marked on official hiking maps that are extremely dangerous under some conditions. You will find trails in Yosemite park that are subject to rock falls some times of the year, and there are places where if you slip you will die.

    In the Alps, trails range from wheelchair accessible to technical climbing - and you have to know how to read the maps and signs to know which are which.
  • I was planning on doing a hike heading up on the Bon Accord Spur and then along the Razorback at Mount Feathop. Google is by far the worst, completely failing to show how the Bon Accord spur connects with the Razorback and other tracks in the area. If you relied on Google in winter for that hike you'd be in serious trouble!!! https://www.google.com/maps/se... [google.com] https://www.bing.com/maps?toWw... [bing.com] https://wego.here.com/directio... [here.com]

  • There's been a landslide on a minor hiking trail nearby, the County that manages the park has posted and cordoned off the trail. I submitted the update to Google Maps on June 6. My "suggestion is being reviewed", but they're looking really biased towards growing their maps, not cleaning them up or making them safe.

    • Google Maps shows my home as being deep in the woods instead of on a road. I submitted a correction twice years ago, pointing them to the online town maps (an authoritative source). My home is still shown in the middle of the woods. The weird thing is that I used to work for GDT, a company that built some of the earliest digital maps used online and I personally added my home and small private shared road to the maps. 10 years ago Google Maps used that data and showed my home correctly. Sometime in the

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by lxrslh ( 652069 )
        Google Maps is not committed to improving the accuracy of their maps. I twice reported their incorrect placement in nearby woods of a public beach that is really on Long Island Sound, referring Google to the town's recreation department maps as authoritative. Two years later, it's still mislocated on Google Maps. OpenStreetMaps has a vastly superior and correct mapping of that area.

  • No "google maps setting pedestrian route in the middle of the road"?

  • I was hoping to show an OSM based solution was better, but it was not. It directs you along roads to a car park, then just draws a straight line up to the summit :-(

  • Tonight I used it to get directions to certain place. It gave me a route that said 15 minutes. I started driving it, but I was pretty sure a different route would be faster. So I ignored it telling me to take a certain exit, and I continued on my own route. Suddenly it changed the route to what I had been thinking, and the remaining time shrunk from 12 minutes down to 8 minutes! I was right, Google Maps sucks.

    Also, sometimes I miss a turn, and the fastest thing to do would be to take a U-turn, but Goo

  • If you plan hiking or climbing with an online map application instead of:
    * a local expert
    * previous experience in the relevant area (see above)
    * special maps/books for the area

    and probably relying on GPS:

    You are an idiot!
    I hope you have at least enough water, or cleansing materials to last a day or two.

    And I seriously hope, you are not sailing with that level of idiocy!

  • If people are using google maps for their hiking in dangerous areas, "could it be that we've found a cure for stupid?"

    I mean that thread is full of sneering about how unvaccinated Republicans deserve to die (mainly because they're Republican) ostensibly because they're too stupid to accept that they need to be vaccinated.
    How would this be any different?

    • It is not any different. It is exactly the same.

      Whether you care to discuss options for reducing the risk to stupid people is up to you.

      • Thank you.
        Personally, I am not interested in making stupid people's lives safer whether they're Republicans that refuse to vaccinate, gay men that refuse to use condoms, or drug abusers that need naloxone multiple times A DAY to prevent dying from overdose.
        And I'm very well aware that I do stupid things myself occasionally. Might be that one of them ends up getting me dead. THAT WOULD BE ON ME.

  • I read this on the BBC the other day, and everyone really seems to be missing the point. Google maps isn't telling you to strike out up Ben Nevis away from the paths. If you ask for driving directions to Ben Nevis, it will give you a route to the nearest road it knows - which isn't the summit as there's no road up Ben Nevis. It's not showing a walking route up the mountain, it's showing the dotted "make your own way" symbol. That doesn't mean walk in a straight line.

    Now of course the nearest road to the sum

  • In Italy, near lake Garda, Google Maps sent me up a road with piled stone walls on both sides. The road turned steeper and steeper, bendier and bendier, and narrower and narrower, until I could no longer continue. I ended up scratching the car on both sides and wrecking the clutch. Google never paid for any of the damage.
  • Is there any technological facilities for friends or family to keep tabs on someone that they know is out hiking in a wilderness area so they know where they are even if they are outside of an area with cell phone service, or are such geo-location services only available to emergency personnel?
  • Change "Upper Glen Ben Nevis Car Park" to just "Upper Glen Car Park" and "Ben Nevis Visitor Center" to "Ben Nevis Visitor Center and Summit Trailhead" and you will cut down drastically on this issue.
  • Google actually actively removes dangerous routes. If you try the bike directions, certain roads that are for "marathon men only" - meaning dangerous to drive a bike on due to blind corners with steep hills and a narrow roadway, it won't send you over.

    Now, a metric farkton (also called a ducheian gaggle [a french biking term, I assure you]) of cyclists can override and plan to obstruct single-lane direction traffic eaun masse through careful planning . . . specifically during commute time . . .
  • I believe that Google should warn you about the danger of your way and to prevent a tragedy, for that you must have a map radius tool [showmymap.com] so you can know what can be found around it and avoid any type of friction with any object. That is really an important topic and I believe that such a big corporation should think about the safety of users. Thank you very much for sharing the post.

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