[ehnto]

Every time I've tried to use Google maps to take me across Vic, between capital cities, it has always taken me down unsealed single lane roads. Despite there being a very well established highway system. It's fun to see what shenanigans it comes up with each time.

No stress for your average country driver but negotiating right of way on a single track road used by heavy freight is not something you get taught at drivers ed! You would also be surprised at just how hilly and windy Victoria can be, and that at some point you will be driving through a rainforest.

Like most states here, it's huge, so if you do venture on an unsealed road adventure just be mindful of your fuel.

[gwillz]

I wouldn't call those shenanigans fun, just frustrating. I know exactly the roads you're referring to. We drove that pass between SA and Vic a good 10 times in just the past 2 years and Google just couldn't figure out that it took far longer by those roads because you can't safely go at speed. There's just too many blind hills.

There's something increasingly messed up with Google's algorithm lately and there's little control. We've recently just been going up and down the east coast and it's idea of "eco" or "short" is just wild. There was an unsealed 15% grade climb over a freaking mountain, it just refused to think of a better way (the motorway that went around it).

I'd be less upset if there was more control over the options. Like a "prefer motorways" or "less turns" or "less hills". Even a "I'm towing" option.

I know it has that data to do it, why not let us use it? Hell I might even pay for it.

[toast0]

> There's something increasingly messed up with Google's algorithm lately and there's little control.

I haven't used Google Maps outside of the US, but I've always felt that it's got to be designed and built by people that have never driven a car in their life. They've almost certainly never driven in Australia. Sometimes updates bring good things, and sometimes they declutter the screen by removing important information like the names of cross streets.

If it's regularly sending you down avoidable gravel roads, you really ought to use something different. I'm more or less happy with google around me, although I'm comfortable enough with my surroundings to recognize and ignore most of the bad ideas; otherwise, I'd try something from Here --- they're the corporate successor of NavTeq, and have been doing digital maps since the 80s, and I liked their maps on Windows Phone. Something based on openstreetmaps is also attractive from an ability to influence the data perspective, too.

[lazystar]

>sometimes they declutter the screen by removing important information like the names of cross streets.

this is such a frustrating experience, especially out in remote areas where roads are long and change names without intersections. when I firat experienced this "feature" it made me realize that google maps is not an actual map, and I should get a physical map as backup.

[edward28]

Funny, given it was made by two Australians.

[Angostura]

I tend to prefer Apple Maps' routing these days - though it still sometimes gets confused about where a place's entrance is

[vladvasiliu]

> There's something increasingly messed up with Google's algorithm lately and there's little control.

I've also noticed this for pedestrian routes inside cities. For some reason, it likes to send you zigzagging when there's a perfectly good straight route. And this is Paris, so it's not like the straight road is an 8-lane highway with no sidewalk.

[cjs_ac]

Your ticket has been closed because Google Maps engineers were unable to reproduce the issue in Silicon Valley.

My experience with both Google Maps and Waze is that despite having the best live traffic data, there are so many UI issues that it's almost dangerous to try to use those apps while driving. I'm seriously considering building my own navigation app just to get some usable information.