Out of traffic, into a ditch: Why Waze on snowy mountain roads could be a bad idea

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Rachael got out of her car, crying as she walked through a foot and a half of snow, looking for a paved road that could take her out of the mountains. 

Instead, she found herself staring into the face of a horse wearing a blanket. 

How did Rachael — in a car with four-wheel drive in an extremely popular tourist destination — find herself stuck on an unpaved road in the snow? Apple Maps. 

Recently, transportation officials and highway patrolmen who manage snowy, mountain roads have a new problem to manage, beyond the usual slick roads: the tendency of real-time navigation apps like Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps to send drivers onto potentially unsafe roads in an effort to find shortcuts or avoid traffic. It got so bad California Highway Patrol was forced to put up a sign.  Read more…

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View More Out of traffic, into a ditch: Why Waze on snowy mountain roads could be a bad idea

A whole bunch of cows are loose on a Georgia highway

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We typically expect fender benders, construction, and terrible drivers to cause traffic — but never do we imagine that our morning commutes will be disrupted by loose livestock.

Welp, naturally chaos ensued after a tractor-trailer transporting cattle overturned on Monday morning, releasing more than 70 cows onto a highway in Georgia.

The trailer containing the cows rolled over on a ramp heading onto the I-285 at the Cobb Cloverleaf, the Georgia Department of Transportation told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Georgia DOT has captured a few of the cows that escaped from the tractor, but are still looking for more with the help of local authorities. Read more…

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Traffic was so bad in Los Angeles that people ditched their cars and lined up for a food truck

Thousands of Angelenos were detoured off of the 105 freeway Friday morning due to a tanker truck crash. Those unable to get off the road in time were stuck in a bumper to bumper traffic jam, so a couple of savvy commuters decided to make the best out…

View More Traffic was so bad in Los Angeles that people ditched their cars and lined up for a food truck