Audi falls into Navi Mumbai ditch after Google Maps misleads driver

A woman driving an Audi car in Navi Mumbai's Belapur area met with an accident in the early hours of Saturday after her vehicle fell into a ditch while she was following directions on Google Maps. The incident took place near a bridge in Belapur when the woman, en route to Ulwe, ended up taking a wrong turn that led her below the bridge and into a water-filled ditch.

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This incident adds to a growing list of navigation-related mishaps involving Google Maps in India. In a tragic event last year, three people lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh when their car followed a misleading route and drove off a damaged bridge into a river. In another incident, tourists in Kerala drove into a flooded stream, mistaking it for a road, though they were safely rescued.

These recurring incidents have raised concerns about over-reliance on navigation apps without cross-verifying routes, especially during nighttime or in unfamiliar terrains.

The Belapur accident, though non-fatal, serves as yet another cautionary tale in the growing list of tech-driven navigational errors.