Apple Maps App Becomes Life-Threatening in Australia

The police department of Victoria state, Australia, is warning the public not to use Apple’s error-prone Maps app when navigating to the southern city of Mildura, as drivers end up stranded in the middle of a remote state park.

Apple Maps places the city of Mildura about 70 kilometers (44 miles) away from actual location, situating it within Murray Sunset National Park, a desert-like region with scorching temperatures and almost no mobile phone reception. The police department has reported that over the last 30 days, its officers have been forced to rescue six stranded drivers who have gotten stuck in the vast, sandy rural area. The drivers make a wrong turn toward what they thought was Mildura and end up on dirt paths only four by fours can trek. Some of the drivers were stranded for 24 hours, with no food or water, and have walked through tough terrain just to get a phone signal.

In a statement, the police informs the public that the national park has no water supply and temperatures can reach up to 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit), so getting lost by Apple Maps is a “potentially life-threatening issue.”

Apple has long been panned for its faulty mapping application, which it released after dropping Google Maps from its mobile operating systems. CEO Tim Cook apologized for the errors and promised to improve it.
The police have tried to contact Apple, but has yet to receive a response, although it appears they have fixed part of the problem. Drivers coming from the southern city of Adelaide are now correctly directed to Mildura while using the Maps application, but drivers from Melbourne are still sent to the park.