Catching Satnav Errors On Google Street View

Barence writes "Most of the satnav companies allow users to report errors with their maps, but do they ever get fixed? PC Pro's Paul Ockenden uses Google StreetView to highlight glaring and dangerous flaws in Tele Atlas maps — which are used by TomTom and Google Maps itself — but the company has failed to respond to numerous reports of map errors posted over the course of several years. 'About half a mile from where I live, a Tele Atlas-based satnav will instruct you to turn off at a junction where there's only an on-ramp,' Ockenden reports. 'I've witnessed some confused and dangerous driving at this junction as people try to find the non-existent exit, so I wouldn't be surprised if major mapping errors like this are a danger to road safety.'"

Comments

Data Posioning....

[LostCluster]

Drive Southbound on Route 3 in MA with a route in your GPS that has you headed South on I-495, and you'll be presented with three routes that tell you to get off Route 3 well before I-495 despite the fact there's a perfectly good direct ramp there.

How'd this happen? Your GPS is pre-programmed with the "fact" that that offramp is constantly backed up and therefore you should seek alternate routes. However, that's absolutely not true. How'd this mistaken info get there? Residents of the area intentionally caused traffic disruptions on the days years ago when GPS mapping companies were in the area so that people would be routed further away from their homes. The trick worked, and the mistaken info remains on the maps.

There's got to be a better way to confirm the existence or non-existence of such must-avoid intersections.

Re:Data Posioning....

[camperdave]

My dad will, when making a left turn on a particular red light, hang back about half a dozen car lengths back from the intersection. This tricks the system into thinking that there's a large lineup of cars in the left turn lane, which activates the advanced green. He then can make his left hand turn on his own private advanced green.

Re:Data Posioning....

[Anonymous Coward]

I know you were being sarcastic, but just for shits I looked it up and Teleatlas has an office in Concord, MA.

Concord Office
150 Baker Ave Ext
Concord, MA 01742

There's only one explanation: Sabotage!

Skewing the traffic data to make the commute to/from work faster.

Hell, I'd do it.

Next step for innovation

[fermion]

This is why I have no sympathy for the GPS companies, like TomTom who is currently has the banner ad on the page I am writing. For years they made good money selling GPS navigation units. They made huge amounts of money by selling map cds. Predictably, when hardware became cheaper and the technology became commoditized, they were essentially made irrelevant by competition making all in one devices. So now they offer updates for free and celebrity voices. What innovation.

Here is what i would like to see. More options in planning trips. What is the safest route that avoids, for instance, single lane mountain roads or highways with no median. Or how can I get from a to b without going through neighborhoods. Google lets you change your path, but you must know what the conditions are like before hand. This would be very expensive to implement, but would differentiate better than celebrity voices.

There is also a next step for creative companies.

Re:User maps...

[NJRoadfan]

Thats how Navtaq got their data. Google used to use Navteq, which for where I lived provided very accurate and up to date data. Ever since they switched to Teleatlas, it was a step backwards. The maps are outdated (changes from 2-3 years ago aren't present), and there are glaring errors everywhere. Mind you, I live in an area that hasn't changed much in the past 20 years, these errors shouldn't be there to begin with.

Then there are the routing errors. There is an intersection around the corner from me that Google thinks one can't make a left turn at (you can). So Google routes you straight through the intersection, makes the first possible u-turn, then back tracks to the intersection to turn right.... yeah... really.

Sadly, the only nice thing about switching to Teleatlas is that it added block numbering to the maps which is handy in urban areas. It also added TOO MUCH information, like obscure/outdated names for parkland, and internal reference numbers for roadways maintained by the state (ex: the Garden State Parkway is known internally by the state as Route 444, it is not posted on the highway itself). All this added information just leads to driver confusion as its really not relevant for navigation purposes

Re:Spy satellites for the masses

[BitZtream]

They certainly use it to update their own maps. The line for my street rain through my back yard before we got streetview (probably 200 yards south of where it was supposed to be), now its right on top of the asphalt where it belongs.

I would bet their updating their one-ways and lane assignments (turn only/HOV/ect) as well.