A path that was intended to take tourists to one of the most dangerous areas of South Africa has been eliminated by Google Maps from its navigation system.
Following a string of occurrences in Nyanga, which is not far from Cape Town’s international airport, the tech giant has decided to change course.
A British surgeon was shot and killed in August while operating a rental automobile after being diverted by police to escape road closures. While his mother, wife, and son were sitting in the car next to him, 40-year-old Kar Hao Teoh was shot in the head by an assailant.
Earlier last month, an American tourist was shot in the face, but amazingly, he survived.
Walter Fischel, 55, chose the quickest route on Google Maps, which led him to Nyanga. When he realized that the place was “not the greatest,” he was shot in the face by four men after becoming stuck in traffic.
He managed to fight back until the assailants took his money and fled in his vehicle. He claimed, “While I tried looking for help, I spat out a couple of my teeth and the bullet as well,” to News24 while speaking from his hospital bed.
Professor Alistair Mokoena, director of Google South Africa, stated that the top priority was to restrict Nyanga as a suggested route to escape gridlock on the major freeway.
At the signing of an agreement that would see the IT company provide digital support to the tourism ministry, Professor Moken announced that new security alerts will also be added to help visitors travel the nation safely.
There is growing pressure on GPS developers, like Google, to update routes in response to a number of global crises involving the risk or loss of lives.
The family of a driver whose car drove off a broken bridge is suing Google right now. The driver used Maps to find the route even though the bridge had collapsed nine years prior.
In addition, Scottish authorities advise visitors and hikers to face Ben Nevis using conventional maps and compasses rather than Google Maps, which could lead them into stony, steep terrain that could be “potentially fatal.”
