Today the media outlets, both online and traditional, snapped up a story about an issue with Apple Maps. As we know anything Apple related generates enormous traffic as the fanboys and haters battle it out in the comments. The story began at 11:30 when the Victorian Police posted about their concern for people who follow Apple Maps directions to Mildura.
While the post mentions ‘a number of motorists’ have been affected by this, Simon Clemence from Victoria Police was interviewed on ABCNews24 this afternoon and gave more detail. It turns out that while 5 instances had reported that Apple Maps had taken them 70km off course into Murray-Sunset National Park, all but 1 realised and turned around on their own.
So it turns out this supposedly ‘massive’ story that has got international attention because it’s Apple-related, actually involved a single man. For that individual who decided to follow technology without question, he was left in a harsh environment without mobile reception. He spent 24 hours walking a long distance with no food or water.
So what do we learn from this story? Anyone with common sense would question turning into a national park as it’s pretty clear that a major Victorian town would not be on the other side. While GPS is an incredibly liberating technology that gives drivers the confidence to travel to areas they’ve never been to before, it’s not perfect.
While locating a town 70km away from its real location is absolutely an issue Apple need to fix, but the fact that a single person got lost does not warrant the response it has gotten.
Please use common sense people.
Update
Apple have now updated the location of Mildura.
