Google Maps Error Makes Guests Miss Weddings And Funerals

A week after her story went up in the Star Ledger, a woman is happy to report that Google Maps is no longer telling people that her driveway is the entrance to the state park. That’s good, but now there’s a new story of people missing weddings and funerals because Google Maps shows a church as being clear on the other side of town from where it really is.

The reverend at St. Rose of Lima in Short Hills says that more than the beauty of marriage and the sorrow of loss, he stresses to those whose ceremonies he officiates to tell their guests not to use Google Maps to find the church. When you type in “50 Short Hills Avenue,” Google Maps spits out directions to 50 Old Short Hills Road. That takes them all the way to the other side of town.

“We had a mother-of-the-bride get lost once. We did hold up the ceremony, but we can’t always,” Rev. Michael Trainor told the Star-Ledger. “People do get upset or angry if they miss or are late for the ceremony.”

A Google spokesperson said they would get a team on it.

Google Maps errors like these are the exception, but if you’re traveling to an important place in an area you’re not familiar with, it’s worth clicking Street View. If you don’t spot a structure that looks like it’s the right place, you might want to double-check your directions with someone at the place you’re visiting.

Bamboozled roundup: Google and Moomjy cases [Star Ledger]

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