Apple Maps Could Be “Potentially Life Threatening”

By now, you’ve surely heard about the woes related to the release of iOS6 and how Apple removed the native Google Maps app, replacing it solely with Apple Maps. And how those possibly terribly inaccurate Apple Maps can be a huge source of frustration. As it turns out, Apple Maps could be “potentially life threatening” too.

That line comes by way of Australian police officials. More specifically, the police of Victoria are urging motorists to avoid using Apple Maps altogether, because the inaccurate directions could lead people into the middle of the Australian Outback. Remember that when you get lost in the Outback, you really are in the middle of nowhere. You could be left with no food, no water, no gas stations, and no shelter from the potentially sweltering heat.

Apple Maps is, for whatever reason, placing the town of Mildura about 70km away from its actual location. People trying to get to Mildura, using Apple Maps, are instead ending up in Murray Sunset National Park and “there is no water supply within the Park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees [Celsius].”

It’s one thing to get annoyed at being sent to the wrong part of town when you want to visit a certain store; it’s another thing altogether to end up in a situation where you could die by dehydration and heat exhaustion. Be sure to review those driving directions to make sure they make sense before you actually start driving!

So are Apple Maps really all that bad? Honestly, it depends on where you live. In some parts of the world, Apple has already done enough to update its maps and ensure improved accuracy. In other places, like parts of Australia, you might want to use them at your own risk.