Google map has thrown up a life-threatening route

Google Maps doesn't always work perfectly, and now a recent incident confirms it: on Twitter, Crystal A. Kolden posted a screenshot of the life-threatening route the world's most popular navigation app suggested she take. 

The Google Map is the world's leading map service, helping millions - even billions - of people in their daily lives, whether they're walking, driving or using public transport. But it's far from infallible, as a recent story on Twitter confirms, in which a near tragedy was caused by Google's mapping app.

Crystal A. Kolden was searching for a route between Sacramento, California and Reno, Nevada when Google Maps threw up a route that was life-threatening to say the least: the map service would have taken the user to a poorly maintained section of forest road, with dangerous terrain and the risk of fatal accidents due to heavy snowstorms.

https://twitter.com/pyrogeog/status/1475620399463292928?s=20

The dangerous stretch of road has already been highlighted by several agencies, including the US Forest Service (USFS), who have taken to Twitter to warn motorists not to use the route. The National Weather Service (NWS) has also reported that a lot of snow has fallen around Lake Tahoe, which could pose very serious hazards.

Scottish hikers in July reported that Google Maps is leading hikers on a dangerous route that even experienced mountaineers are being taught a lesson. The John Muir Trust, which oversees Britain's highest mountain peaks, has issued a warning that Google Maps virtual maps are not suitable for mountain navigation, and that tourist maps are supposed to show the hiking route.