Quairading shire erects signs telling travellers to ignore GPS maps including Google
A frustrated council in Western Australia has erected signs warning drivers against using Google maps after GPS-based directions repeatedly sent travellers down unsafe roads.
Key points:
Quairading Shire in WA's Wheatbelt has erected signs telling drivers not to follow GPS instructions
It has attempted to have the online maps corrected
The shire says the directions don't take into consideration whether roads are sealed or not
The Shire of Quairading, two hours east of Perth, has put up two large signs encouraging motorists to avoid part of the Old Beverley Road and instead travel via Quairading-York Road.
The shire says while the online maps send drivers on the quickest route, the gravel road is dangerous in some conditions, particularly for those unused to driving on country roads or carrying caravans and heavy loads.
Traveller Brian Sheldrick posted an image of one of the signs to social media after driving through the region earlier this year.
He opted to follow the sign's instructions and took the safer Quairading-York Road to Perth.
"Some people didn't think it was real and a couple other people have dived in and said, 'Yeah, it's very real'," he said.
"If I wasn't towing a caravan, I would have kept going but the wife doesn't like to be upset."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-28/google-maps-sending-people-wrong-way-quairading-shire/103207090