Glitch in the Google Map matrix sends drivers down embarrassing shortcut

That would be an uncomfortable wait for a tow...

Google Maps has fixed a bug that told drivers to turn down a flight of stairs in Edinburgh twice in one week. 

The embarrassing shortcut prompted the drivers to venture down Greenside Lane in the centre of Scottish capital. Unfortunately, it was recently pedestrianised and given a brand new set of steps.

However, two drivers following the out of date directions failed to notice the new installation and were left stranded – not to mention red-faced – on the pavement outside the city’s Theatre Royal Bar.

The first driver, in a white SUV, was caught making the embarrassing mistake in the act on December 19.

‘It happened last night about 8.24pm,’ said one witness George, according to Edinburgh Live. ‘I thought he was just mounting the pavement until I heard the huge crunch when I was crossing London Road.’

The second vehicle, a white Toyota Prius, followed in its tyre tracks a week later, becoming wedged at the top of the steps and blocking half the pavement.

Both cars had to be towed back up the steps and onto the road.

The drivers also had to cut directly across a designated cycle lane – not to mention the pavement – to reach the steps, prompting many residents to question why the council had not installed bollards. 

Taking to social media, Douglas Stocks wrote: ‘Could do with some bollards in Greenside Place to stop idiot drivers mounting the kerb and driving over the cycle lane and pavement.’

But speaking to Edinburgh Live, a Google spokesperson first said the team had been ‘alerted’ to the issue, and later sent an update confirming the issue had been fixed – hopefully.

‘I believe this issue has been fixed,’ they said, which doesn’t sound 100% confident, to be honest.

The Edinburgh incidents are far from the first mishaps caused by out of date or rogue directions on Google Maps.

In November a number of drivers were directed into the Nevada desert to by the app, ironically to avoid a dust storm.

And in New Zealand, a glitch in the service directed drivers to the wrong side of a mountain while they were looking for a popular tourist attraction – instead finding themselves in deep snow at a ski field.

In more serious incidents, drivers have lost their lives due to inaccurate directions. Google is currently being sued for negligence by the family of a father who drowned after he followed directions across a collapsed bridge.

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