Garmin Map Errors

[JEBar]

about a year ago I used Garmin's website to report an error in the map data they have for a road in our neighborhood .... they had a line one the map for a one mile +/- two lane road but didn't have it named .... that made following their verbal directions "interesting" for folks who don't know the area .... I didn't get an acknowledgement and had pretty much forgotten about it until today .... we updated our maps a couple of days ago and today the correct info was shown on the screen and in the verbal directions ..

.. I do have to admit that I am a bit impressed that they would make the effort to correct such a small omission .... about the same time I reported a change in the speed limit on road that runs from the interstate to our favorite CG in western NC .... we noted that they corrected that issue on our prior update .... two years ago we reported incorrect directions to exit a major road around San Antonio and get on the service road for no reason whatsoever .... in February it will be interesting to see if that issue has also been fixed

 

[Ekh]

I committed a murder in Homer, Alaska, the summer of 2010. My Garmin had been acting up, and the smug bitch living behind the screen kept telling me to make turns I knew were nuts (it was a straight line, no turns, to my destination which was a city park). So I started driving according to her directions. For 20 minutes or so I traced and retraced routes, went in circles, went the wrong direction. Finally, I could stand it no more. I killed her and hired her British male alternative, a guy called Reginald, but whom I renamed, appropriately, "Miles."

I have never felt so good as when I got that smug, smarmy, self-satisfied, archly cooing slime-ball of a female voice out of my car! God, it felt good.

That of course didn't cure the Garmin, but it sure felt better. In point of fact the Garmin had been making a lot of errors all over Alaska, but also in Texas, Ohio, and Maine -- so I tracked down the company that Garmin contracts with to maintain their data base. This took some doing, and I wish I could remember their names -- anyway, I got through to the guy in charge who was laughing hysterically when I played the audio tape of Homer Alaska's mapicide. He explained that they sent teams out every two years to Alaska, but perhaps they'd see if they could schedule a special to catch the various errors I reported. He was most cooperative, because he got it it when I pointed out that an out-of-date database up there could have very serious implications -- one closed gas station when they're 200 miles apart could lead to some serious decision problems.

My current Garmin has fewer errors, but it's a pain in the ass and the voice recognition software is unusable. I use my Google Maps / Cellphone to do the job, and can't wait for my Navdy to arrive, which also uses Google Maps. It should be here before March 2016. http://www.navdy.com/zpyeEI4b

 

[WilliamH]

I committed a murder in Homer, Alaska, the summer of 2010. My Garmin had been acting up, and the smug bitch living behind the screen kept telling me to make turns I knew were nuts (it was a straight line, no turns, to my destination which was a city park). So I started driving according to her directions. For 20 minutes or so I traced and retraced routes, went in circles, went the wrong direction. Finally, I could stand it no more. I killed her and hired her British male alternative, a guy called Reginald, but whom I renamed, appropriately, "Miles."

I have never felt so good as when I got that smug, smarmy, self-satisfied, archly cooing slime-ball of a female voice out of my car! God, it felt good.

That of course didn't cure the Garmin, but it sure felt better. In point of fact the Garmin had been making a lot of errors all over Alaska, but also in Texas, Ohio, and Maine -- so I tracked down the company that Garmin contracts with to maintain their data base. This took some doing, and I wish I could remember their names -- anyway, I got through to the guy in charge who was laughing hysterically when I played the audio tape of Homer Alaska's mapicide. He explained that they sent teams out every two years to Alaska, but perhaps they'd see if they could schedule a special to catch the various errors I reported. He was most cooperative, because he got it it when I pointed out that an out-of-date database up there could have very serious implications -- one closed gas station when they're 200 miles apart could lead to some serious decision problems.

My current Garmin has fewer errors, but it's a pain in the ass and the voice recognition software is unusable. I use my Google Maps / Cellphone to do the job, and can't wait for my Navdy to arrive, which also uses Google Maps. It should be here before March 2016. http://www.navdy.com/zpyeEI4b

You are correct in saying that it is the database.
And unfortunately they all default to the US Coast and Geodetic survey maps lacking other info.
The same errors show up using Google Earth.
I put in my address and Google Earth showed me in the middle of a dry wash about a mile from my ranch.
If you are following their directions and something seems wrong remember the old Bell Labs wisdom.
To err is human..... To really screw things up requires a computer!

 

[BilgeRat]

With the few problems that I've had with Garmin over the years, their support folks have been great. One even called me back after we ended our call with a further suggestion on the problem, which is something I've never had happen with anyone before. My major gripe with my unit is the damn speed display turning red at 1 mph over the (frequently wrong) speed limit. The red numerals are completely unreadable on the night display.

As for the Navdy, I'd have to try one out before making a decision. I find I prefer a display of a real map. If it can display a detailed map, I'd be very intrigued...

 

[Ian442]

I committed a murder in Homer, Alaska, the summer of 2010. My Garmin had been acting up, and the smug bitch living behind the screen kept telling me to make turns I knew were nuts (it was a straight line, no turns, to my destination which was a city park). So I started driving according to her directions. For 20 minutes or so I traced and retraced routes, went in circles, went the wrong direction. Finally, I could stand it no more. I killed her and hired her British male alternative, a guy called Reginald, but whom I renamed, appropriately, "Miles."

I have never felt so good as when I got that smug, smarmy, self-satisfied, archly cooing slime-ball of a female voice out of my car! God, it felt good.

That of course didn't cure the Garmin, but it sure felt better. In point of fact the Garmin had been making a lot of errors all over Alaska, but also in Texas, Ohio, and Maine -- so I tracked down the company that Garmin contracts with to maintain their data base. This took some doing, and I wish I could remember their names -- anyway, I got through to the guy in charge who was laughing hysterically when I played the audio tape of Homer Alaska's mapicide. He explained that they sent teams out every two years to Alaska, but perhaps they'd see if they could schedule a special to catch the various errors I reported. He was most cooperative, because he got it it when I pointed out that an out-of-date database up there could have very serious implications -- one closed gas station when they're 200 miles apart could lead to some serious decision problems.

My current Garmin has fewer errors, but it's a pain in the ass and the voice recognition software is unusable. I use my Google Maps / Cellphone to do the job, and can't wait for my Navdy to arrive, which also uses Google Maps. It should be here before March 2016. http://www.navdy.com/zpyeEI4b

If you were ever an A-10 Warthog pilot you have had to deal with "Bitchin Betty". The voice for the warning systems is female. .

Fact: Siri is actually a male in Germany because German men were polled and said it was offensive to take directions from a woman.

 

[Lil4X]

I've selected female British voices for both my TomTom and my HERE Drive+ app on my phone. I found that those voices get my attention, even if a separate radio is playing - especially during talk shows. My wife's learned to live with "Susan" too . . . well, she says she does.

An interesting situation a couple of weeks ago occurred while driving to my in-laws' new home. My wife had all the directions provided by her sister, and I had the TomTom running on the dash with the phone app grinding away in my pocket. I'd thoughtfully muted both voices. We reached a point where my wife's sister's directions were rapidly getting us lost, while both GPS solutions indicated slightly different routes, but were far more accurate. We ended up following the TomTom and drove to our destination without incident. Although our in-laws directions did get us off track once, both devices quickly recalculated the route and put us back on track instantly. My wife's sister still insists her directions were correct. I hope when she leaves home she leaves a trail of crumbs to follow.

I've used GPS for route planning and driving for over 23 years, and although I've been misdirected only a couple of times (thanks to some really miserable translation to the database) I won't be without it. I've even made many trips though the Warehouse District in New Orleans (which must hold the world record for narrow, confusing streets), without incident. The only times I've found either phone apps, standalone GPS or even OEM instruments deeply inaccurate has been in downtown city canyons where satellite signals bounce around between buildings, confusing their arrival times and showing you two or three blocks from your actual location.

 

[Rob Croson]

Most of my experience with GPS navigation has been positive. The few times we've gotten in trouble have been where the road unexpectedly changes names, or there have been multiple roads with similar names (Street vs. Road, or East vs West). I do occasionally have people tell me that if you're using GPS direction to get to their location, you have "stop following when you get to Main Street, because the Google Maps shows us three miles down, on the opposite side of the road!" At least once, though, the directions were very far off, because the local house numbering scheme was ridiculously screwed up. The numbers jumped by a couple thousand, or inexplicably switched from going up to down, or something.

 

[Coss]

Most of my experience with GPS navigation has been positive. The few times we've gotten in trouble have been where the road unexpectedly changes names, or there have been multiple roads with similar names (Street vs. Road, or East vs West). I do occasionally have people tell me that if you're using GPS direction to get to their location, you have "stop following when you get to Main Street, because the Google Maps shows us three miles down, on the opposite side of the road!" At least once, though, the directions were very far off, because the local house numbering scheme was ridiculously screwed up. The numbers jumped by a couple thousand, or inexplicably switched from going up to down, or something.

Tell me about screwing up numbers; my house address is 903 the house right next to me to the east (like 10' away) is 902
How do you have odd and even right next to one another?
You balance it out! The house across the street directly to the west is also 902
So we have 902 - 903 - 902 all in a perfect alignment.

 

[Rob Croson]

That's umm... weird.

 

[Coss]

That's umm... weird.

Ask the UPS and FedEx people how much fun they have in this neighborhood.
Besides the strange house numbers the streets are all numbers; so you can go stand on the corner of 11th Street and 11th Ave
(Ave's go north-south streets go east-west)
Then throw in Place (north-south) Way (east-west) CR (Circle) and CT (Court) Whoever built this community had a sick sense of humor.
(And they left out Lane)