Google fixes Utah navigation issue after worst incident yet

EMERY COUNTY, Utah (KTVX) — For the past few years, a central Utah county has had a recurring problem with drivers stranded on a mountaintop, with Google Maps to blame. After the worst incident yet, Google has finally fixed the problem.

Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington said they receive a call for help several times a month – usually around midnight or later – from a remote road on East Mountain. Motorists are directed there when they enter “Utah” as a destination in Google Maps.

“We had a problem where people traveling to Utah would just type ‘Utah’ into their Google search … and then they would end up in this remote area of ​​our county,” Huntington said.

The Emery County Sheriff’s Office provided information on nine cases over the past two years in which travelers were stranded on East Mountain – they were either lost, stuck or ran out of gas – even though their navigation system had directed them onto the mountain road.

The travelers in the cases were often families and tourists from out of state who were unfamiliar with the area. He said they typed in “Utah” and followed directions to East Mountain, eventually calling 911.

In each case, search and rescue teams were able to help them and their cars get off the mountain, but officials say Friday’s incident was “the worst yet.”

An 18-wheeler hauling a 53-foot refrigerated container full of Red Bull was directed by the navigation system to head up East Mountain, but got stuck in the mud and staggered up a steep hill. The driver was rescued and the tractor-trailer was recovered the next day.

The sheriff’s office said it had contacted Google about 40 times over the past few years about the issue and even put up signs along the roads warning drivers not to continue if they followed Google Maps to “Utah” or were not equipped for the terrain.

“We had to take these steps to contain the problems, but to date we have had no luck with Google,” Huntington said Monday.

After the semi-trailer nearly fell down a hill over the weekend, the sheriff’s office’s IT department turned to Google again in hopes of making a change.

A Google spokesperson said the issue had been resolved by Monday.

“We use multiple sources to update the map – including community input, information from local authorities, as well as Street View and satellite imagery. We have updated this route on our map and it should appear in the next few days,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Google Maps now directs drivers to a location in downtown Salt Lake City when they enter “Utah” as a destination.

Huntington said he was “super excited” that the issue was fixed and he expects there will be significantly fewer calls from the area now that Google has changed the pin location for Utah.

“We are happy that (travellers) will no longer encounter this problem, it will not damage their vehicles or cause problems, and we will then be able to keep our resources in the most populated areas of our county,” he said.

He said that while it was not the drivers’ fault that they broke down, these incidents showed the importance of being prepared with water and granola bars and checking the route in advance.

“This shows that you can’t always predict what’s going to happen. We always have to be prepared for things we don’t expect,” he said. “If something seems strange or (not) right, stop and figure out what’s going on before you proceed.”