Google was forced to fix a glitch in their navigation system after multiple cars, including a semi-truck, became stranded on a dirt road, forcing the sheriff’s department to rescue them.
Emory County Sheriff Tyson Huntington told ABC4 News when drivers traveling to ‘Utah‘ put Google search in maps they end up in a remote area called East Mountain in Emory County.
It has been an ongoing issue where motorists – mostly out-of-towners- end up making an emergency call for help because they are either lost, stuck, or have run out of gas, with most of the SOS calls coming in after midnight, Huntington said.
On Friday, an 18-wheel semi-truck carrying a 53-foot reefer trailer full of Red Bull got stuck in the mud after its navigation system took him to East Mountain Road. The driver and his truck were rescued, but officials noted it was ‘the worst one.’
After the incident, the sheriff’s department contacted Google, along with the news outlet, and were ‘super excited’ when they got a response.
An 18-wheel semi-truck carrying a 53-foot reefer trailer full of Red Bull (pictured) got stuck in the mud on Friday after its navigation system took him to East Mountain Road. Teams rescued the driver, and his truck that was teetering on the steep hill
A map of the road before Google made the correction on their navigation system
‘We use multiple sources to update the map – including contributions from the community, information from local authorities, along with Street View and satellite imagery,’ a Google spokesperson told News4.
‘We’ve updated this route on our map and it should be reflected in the coming days.’
Huntington noted that the issue was fixed even before Google responded.
Google changed the location of Utah’s pin, and Huntington now expects fewer stranded motorists calling.
Emory County Sheriff’s Department placed signs on the road warning motorists not to proceed if they were following 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 cleared they issued an update that the road was re-opened
On Monday, Huntington explained that before Google intervened, the sheriff’s department was taking their own steps to mitigate the problem.
The Emory County Sheriff’s Department placed signs on the road warning motorists not to proceed if they were following Google Maps to ‘Utah’ or if they were not equipped for the terrain.
‘We’ve had to take those steps to try to be able to mitigate the problem, but we haven’t had any luck with Google until today,’ he said.
Now that the Google Maps has been fixed Huntington expects fewer calls for help.
Huntington said: ‘We’re happy that [travelers] won’t run into that problem anymore, it won’t damage their vehicles or cause problems, and then we’re able to keep our resources in the most populous areas of our county.’