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Old 21st October 2020, 09:58   #46
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Its very clear we need to know how to put a servant to a good use. A servant cannot become the master. Same goes for Google Maps.

We need to use multiple feedbacks from experience to understand the global routing aspects. But local details we can use Google. But we simply should not trust Google to take us through a global / high-level route which is not at all validated by prior experience.
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Old 21st October 2020, 10:09   #47
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

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Originally Posted by Holyghost View Post
Few years back, Google maps showed me a faster route to Bangalore airport and I almost ended up missing the flight. Google was asking me to drive through a narrow 3 feet wide road with walls on both sides. I thought google will re-route if I go back and take a different road. But it did not; it made me go through some small roads and brought me back to the exact same spot asking me to go through that 3 feet road again. The cycle continued 1 more time and finally asked for help from local people. I was able to reach the airport just on time and had to run all the way to the boarding gate.

Now I never trust google maps and always verify the entire route before starting the navigation. If the map shows any diversions from the highways, I always double check with local people before taking the deviation.
Was this in 2017 ?

One fine evening I believe in Apr, 2017, Google Maps API for a popular cab company errored out in Bangalore and many people missed flight as Google landed up everyone on back entry of airport and navigating to official front entry was 30 mins journey. I was lucky as I had spare time to have dinner at airport which I lost but other travellers that evening missed the flight.
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Old 21st October 2020, 10:48   #48
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Whoa this is scary indeed! The key lesson here is DO NOT follow google maps blindly, and always use your judgement; although I must say that it is pretty accurate most of the time. However, in the relatively rural/off-beat places it tends to goof up.

I have had such an instance where Google maps almost made me go through a paddy field by taking me right to its edge and asking me continue further. That is when I decided to seek the help of locals for directions. Since then, I always take directions by google maps with a pinch of salt and am on the constant lookout for the road conditions that it suggests.

In another instance, on a road trip to Sikkim with my family, Google maps took me through a very narrow deserted road just after Bhagalpur to reach the highway to Purnea. I drove through that deserted road after sunset for almost 1 hour and during that one hour I encountered just one tractor coming from the opposite direction (which btw I had to reverse to find a wider stretch to let it pass). Being in such a situation with family on board scared the wits out of me. I finally breathed a sigh of relief after touching the highway. On the way back, I realized there was a much better road available to reach the highway.

And having RSA is a saviour indeed, especially if you are someone who undertakes very long road trips like me. My car refused to start in North Goa (which was later diagnosed to be a fuel pump issue) in the late evening. The resort that I had booked was a good 40-50 kms away. Called up the RSA and they arrived within 1.5 hours with a flatbed truck, and took my car to the service centre. The car was fixed the next day and I could resume my journey back to Bangalore.

Last edited by anshu1101 : 21st October 2020 at 10:51.
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Old 21st October 2020, 10:50   #49
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Is not the title of the thread is misleading? Harrier was stuck because of the drivers fault and no fault of the car. The title portraits the car in bad light.
Happy that timely help was provided and everyone was safe.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:03   #50
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

I am sure Google Maps has had many of us taking wrong directions through roads that are not suitable for cars. However, on two occasions, Google Maps has actually saved me hours of travel time when stuck in highway jams.

The first happened in 2017, around Diwali. We had traveled from Gurgaon to Nainital for the holidays in our pocket rocket - the Alto K10. On the way back, there was heavy traffic jam on the highway due to an accident, and Google Maps recommended a diversion before reaching Gaziabad to Noida through some back alleyways. Since it was saving us 45 mins as per the Maps, we took the diversion, and whilst the road was narrow, and a bit rough in patches, it saved us a whole bunch of time. Other friends who were making the same drive in their car, stuck to the main highway and ended up taking a whopping 2 hrs more to reach home than us.

The second incident happened just last week, when we were driving back from Nashik to Mumbai. Again, due to an accident on the highway, Google maps recommended us to take a diversion a short distance before Bhiwandi and rejoin the highway after the spot where the congestion was happening. I decided to initially ignore the diversion, and ended up getting stuck in a jam for a good half an hour at standstill, before we got lucky and were able to take a U turn and then took the diversion that Google suggested. This time as well, the road was narrow and wasn't great, and my pampered Skoda Octavia VRS did end up scraping its belly twice, but we were able to bypass the congestion and saved ourselves at least an hour or more of traffic jam.

I guess, one does get lucky every once in a while.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:09   #51
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Ugh!! A scary eye opener and thanks a lot for sharing this experience.

Kudos to the Insurance RSA team for their prompt action.

Did your friend get the Harrier scanned/checked after this incident ? I would recommend to get it done if he hasn't.

Also did he try changing the driving modes to slush/snow before calling you ? I understand that these Electronic-2WD drive modes won't help much, but still out of curiosity.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:09   #52
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Quote:
Originally Posted by ampere View Post
Its very clear we need to know how to put a servant to a good use. A servant cannot become the master. Same goes for Google Maps.

We need to use multiple feedbacks from experience to understand the global routing aspects. But local details we can use Google. But we simply should not trust Google to take us through a global / high-level route which is not at all validated by prior experience.
It actually works OK still. We need to ensure we set the right filters / options when selecting the route. Stick to national highway / state highway in the route & reject alternatives suggested based on traffic conditions. This is what I always do when traveling in rural areas & it works quite OK.

More or less I use Google maps to guide me turn-by-turn with a route that I myself have selected at the start of the journey. That way I don't need to keep paying express attention to poor road-signs on our roads.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:13   #53
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Taking a detour away from a NH, that too with family and being the single car on the journey is simply put, plain stupidity.

Never leave the NH for an alternate route, especially at night. I love night drives and always, I repeat ALWAYS stick to the NH or an extremely familiar State Highway. Never go for the by roads or village routes.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:16   #54
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

This is scary. As GTO said, your friend certainly had some kinda protection from above, otherwise it might have gone worse in 100 different scenarios.

Gmaps has improved by leaps and bounds in India and I can say that they're correct most of the time, but then very rarely, it does show up DISASTERCLASSES like this.

It made me go to a dead end with a small creek running across. It was literally telling me to go ahead when I stopped. This was when I was driving from Trivandrum to Thrissur, it was late into the night and was stuck in a block and it suggested an alternate route bypassing this block.

What's even funnier is, a couple autorickshaws and bikers saw me pull out from my lane and turning into a road and they promptly followed me thinking I had found some shortcut from the block, only to create a mini block, one after the other when I reached the dead end.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:25   #55
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dieseltuned View Post
Is not the title of the thread is misleading? Harrier was stuck because of the drivers fault and no fault of the car. The title portraits the car in bad light.
Happy that timely help was provided and everyone was safe.
Agreed. The title implies that Car has some involvement.

I think something along the lines of the below should be the name, without mentioning the name of the car.

//Google Maps Terror - New car stuck in Forest - GoDigit RSA for rescue //

In this age of misinformation, opinions are formed immediately without a comprehensive read. As a responsible forum, I appeal the mods to alter the name of the thread so that the car does not attract any negative coverage without its fault.

---------

And kudos to https://www.godigit.com/ . I am taking my next insurance with them though I hope I never need it.

These scary experiences make the driver wiser. And it is quite bizarre how the G-maps left them in a forsaken place as I never experienced such incident and further, I was always impressed with the accuracy of the Google maps even in the remotest parts . I guess I have to stop the overreliance.

Last edited by poised2drive : 21st October 2020 at 11:28.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:27   #56
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

I have a similar experience with Google maps in Ooty. It was 9 pm, raining like cats and dogs. The Google maps took me to a narrow single lane road that happened to be a dead end. The road was just wide for a car. I was driving my ciaz that day. I had to reverese the car for 400 meters as there was no space in the sides (both sides had embankment and trees). It was pitch dark and totally isolated from any humans/traffic. I thanked my lucky stars for taking the ciaz on that trip(which has a pretty accurate rear cam and parking sensors) instead of my humungous Storme (only sensors, no rear cam).

It's always better to ask the locals for route assistance.

PS: Don't tell me your friend drove a 22 lakh car and tried to avoid tolls, choosing a route that's 1 hour longer

Last edited by PrasannaDhana : 21st October 2020 at 11:28.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:41   #57
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dieseltuned View Post
Is not the title of the thread is misleading? Harrier was stuck because of the drivers fault and no fault of the car. The title portraits the car in bad light.
Happy that timely help was provided and everyone was safe.
Technically, Google Maps is also not at fault. It was the user who did not operate the software properly. The title kind of portrays Google Maps in bad light as well!
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:47   #58
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

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Originally Posted by shishir333 View Post
First google maps. Why this weird behavior?
We figured this out...
GMap was not designed specifically for India, but for a wide spectrum of countries. Many countries have tolled roads as well as brilliant non-tolled highways alongside, so the choice is yours, whether to pay and travel a little faster, or save the money, enjoy the countryside and arrive a little later.

For example: In Australia, where we've covered long distances, we choose to avoid tolls, and we still travel on excellent roads. OTOH, in India, try that and you WILL end up in a ditch or stream, as the story amply highlights. In Thailand, I've once had the experience of GMap taking me on to an unmetalled road for about 5 km before getting me back to another highway - probably because the shortest route option was taken.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shishir333 View Post
Second, why did the lights (headlights specifically) on harrier stopped working? I don't have an answer to this and would ask bhpians to shed some light on the topic
Sorry, cannot shed light on this at all, because the headlights stopped working...
It could be water in a connector.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shishir333 View Post
Third, the engine light. This happened once with me too on my Polo. I revved the engine really hard on an off-road steep climb. There was smoke and burning smell from the engine bay. The engine light came on. And the very next morning it was gone! Even the VW guys did not find any error codes
Occasionally, a sensor may send out an erratic signal, not in keeping with the overall expectation of the ECM, regarding the state of the car. So the car went into a creek, and the cold water suddenly made a sensor or two in the exhaust system give out a wrong temperature reading. The light comes on. The next day, the ECM figured all readings are correct, and voila, no check engine light.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shishir333 View Post
Lastly Never rely on just the maps; on longer routes stick to highways as much as possible. These detours are not only dangerous but exhaustive too and on longer drives, this exertion could result in really bad consequences!
Rule of thumb that I follow, for driving in India based on GMaps: never go into a road that GMap points at, if it is
- not metalled
- not wide enough to allow you to turn around
- is a long way away from your final destination
If you avoid these roads, GMap WILL recalculate and find you a longer but safer route, even if it takes more time.

Even if it is someone's house you are visiting based on a location pin, and GMap leads you into a narrow little lane, try to park the car in a zone where you can turn it around easily, and walk the rest of the way.

Last edited by SS-Traveller : 21st October 2020 at 12:01.
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Old 21st October 2020, 11:51   #59
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Thank god that his mobile was not dead and he had mobile network.
Tata concealing the rear tow hook just to make it looks clean/elegant is silly and I don't like these trends.
I had got in to tricky situations for blindly trusting Google Maps.
On one such occasions, I was traveling to Yercaud from Bangalore with my family. I faithfully followed Googlemap which included taking a diversion from the highway after Dharmapuri. Someone advised us to go all the way to Salem and take a diversion but we ignored it as it appeared to be a lengthly route. The road we had diverted in to looked very good in the beginning but after few kilometers there was another diversion in to a narrow road. This turned out to be nightmarish as we had to drive through a narrow broken path at night in an unknown territory, going through a ghat section. There was no other vehicles on the road except at one point, there were 2 bikers who were coming along which made us more scared. With so many hairpin turns and non-existant patches of road, I think I was able to pull through only because I was in a 4WD with low range (Forester). Later I came to know that that road was not much in use. I thought the Google ML takes in to the actual usage in to account while suggesting a route.
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Old 21st October 2020, 12:03   #60
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Re: Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue

Quote:
Originally Posted by shishir333 View Post

Never rely on just the maps; on longer routes stick to highways as much as possible. These detours are not only dangerous but exhaustive too and on longer drives, this exertion could result in really bad consequences!

Stay safe!
I can't agree more on that. Once in December we were returning from a trip to Uttarakhand and as we had our flight next afternoon, we needed to catch some sleep at our friend's place whose Duster we had borrowed for the trip. As it was December and late in the evening, we had smog to tackle. We could see barely a few feet in front of our car. As I was not familiar with North Indian roads, I relied solely on Google Maps.

It was getting late (about 9 pm in the evening) and the smog was becoming worse. Due to this I checked Maps for a quicker route and it did show me a quicker route, but there was a catch. It was a canal bank road. It went on the banks of the Ganga river canal and it surely had to be atleast 15 ft deep. On the other side there were sugarcane fields, 10 ft below the road. I was praying to God that nothing should happen. Thankfully it was a fairly straight road. But the ordeal took nearly 45 minutes as I couldn't drive fast in the smog.

If it had been day time it certainly would have been faster I suppose. But a truck with yellow fogs came to our rescue and as it overtook us I quickly followed it by the tail lamps. Then I took a vow to never take any "quicker route" suggestions.... Google Maps is good for day time and that too for highways. For night time driving, checking with the locals is best.
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