• By Alex David
  • Sun, 01 Jun 2025 10:29 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

The mayhem that erupted among German users of Google Maps serves as a perfect example of its ineptitude in automated navigation. It is no secret that Germans take automation very seriously. The problem, which emerged on the 25th of May, had unfortunately come at the worst timing when everyone was on the roads due to the Ascension Day holiday. With everybody leaving at the same time, the roads were overcrowded, leading to even more detours being taken. 

What went wrong?

Google priced the closures of many major highways and autobahns to be active in the Western Central and Southwestern Germany regions, which also included Belgium and the Netherlands. In reality, the roads were open to traffic.

These roads are pumped with traffic every other weekend, so it is no surprise that at the start of the four-day holiday, the entire region was too crowded to function.

In the attempt to find other routes, half of the population of Germany drove through the countryside backroads, which resulted in gridlocked traffic.

Supplementary free-to-use services such as Apple Maps or Waze did not have the same problem as Google. Local traffic services and reports also indicated that the traffic situation in Germany was completely normal.

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Google’s Reaction to the Incident

A Google spokesperson told Ars Technica:

"We investigated a technical issue that temporarily showed inaccurate road closures on the map and have since removed them."

Google Maps compiles its information from:

- User inputs

- Public Transport services

- Other Businesses

Although Google did not elaborate on the explanation, it is assumed that a combination of the following factors could be responsible for the error:

- Traffic warnings from the German Automobile Club

- Recent AI-driven feature updates in Google Maps

New AI features in Google Maps

- Panic and False Information

- The overload of new red alert symbols signalled panic among many travellers:

  • A subset of users began to panic over the presumed risk of a cyber attack or terrorism.
  • While others assumed direct interference of the government or cases of calamitous, uncontrolled forces of nature.

- More common Deceptive Ads Etiquette violations on the internet blackhole.

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Not the only Incident

- Earlier in the month, Google Maps guided users in the wrong direction in Germany.

- 2023 Lawsuit: The family of a man who died after driving off a collapsed bridge is currently suing Google for negligent navigation directions.

Conclusion

This latest incident showcases the need for triangulating real-time traffic data with additional sources before embarking on a journey, particularly during peak travel seasons. It also highlights the concerns of real-world navigation system AI dependability, and to what extent a person can rely on a singular digital source for travel information.