A woman drove straight into a ditch in Navi Mumbai on Friday morning because Google Maps told her to.
She was heading from Belapur to Ulwe and was supposed to take the Bay Bridge. Instead, the app sent her down a route beneath it, toward the Dhruvatara Jetty. She followed the instructions and minutes later, she was in the water.
Marine security officials saw her car sink and rushed to pull her out. She was found floating, rescued in time, and escaped without injuries. Her white car was later pulled out using a crane.
From flooded roads and ditches to broken bridges and deadly sewers, Google Maps has been sending people straight into danger.
On July 23, an elderly couple’s car fell into a stream in flood-hit Manvettam, Kottayam. Google Maps had led them to a submerged, unsafe road. Locals and mill workers dragged them out just before the car could be swept away.
In March, a man died in Greater Noida after his car plunged into a 30-foot sewer. He was following the app.
In April, two people died on the Delhi-Lucknow highway after police suspect their car took a wrong turn suggested by Google Maps and collided with a truck.
In December 2024, three men travelling from Kanpur to Pilibhit drove onto a narrow canal path. The car overturned and fell in. They survived.
In November 2024, three people died after their car, guided by Google Maps, climbed a damaged bridge and fell 50 feet into a river in Faridpur, Badaun district.
Google issued a statement after the deaths: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the families. We're working closely with the authorities and providing our support to investigate the issue.”
Another tourist group from Hyderabad, unfamiliar with the terrain, drove straight into a swollen stream in Kerala while following the app. The road was underwater due to heavy rains. All four passengers escaped just in time.
Drivers say these errors aren’t rare.
Goutam Ghosh, 46, who drives for Indrive, told The Telegraph Online in November: “Using Google Maps I keep finding myself at a dead end, like after reaching halfway I see there is no road and it is blocked. There have also been issues where I have found a pond instead of a road while using the map, this happened when I was driving in Medinipur. While driving in Kolkata there have been instances where it has shown directions where even a cycle cannot enter but it is suggesting the route for a four-wheeler. Because of these I have faced cancellations in bookings as customers either get another ride or get late.”