“There is a faster route with current traffic“. It is a common message from Google Maps or Waze, which show live alternative routes to a destination taking into account the traffic state. Normally we can’t wait to get to our destination, so we accept with our eyes closed. But no They are always right. And sometimes the remedy can be much worse than the disease.
They learned it the hard way about twenty drivers. The GPS redirected them to a wonderful trap in the snow: an unpaved gravel road. The rescue teams had to ask for help to get them out of there.
With snow, highways and main roads: it doesn’t matter what the navigator tells you
It happened last week in Oregon. Due to heavy snowfall, a section of the I-84 highway was closed. That caused a huge traffic jam, so The GPS of a few drivers suggested another faster route. It is not indicated whether it was an application such as Google Maps or Waze, or a TomTom-style navigator. It is understood in any case that it was not the integrated navigator since the cars were different brands, although there were several Toyota models.
The alternative route turned out to be Ruckle Road, a gravel road that runs through a steep mountainous area. This road is so abrupt that Google Street View doesn’t even show it. And so remote that it does not have any type of maintenance in winter. At least that’s what Union County Search and Rescue says. on your Facebook page.
The emergency service in this Oregon county received an emergency SOS call sent from an iPhone. Thus, Union County Search & Rescue sent a crawler rescue vehicle to assist him and get him off that rough road. Shortly afterward they received more calls, and at first they thought it was the same car.
It was not like that: when the department’s SUV arrived in the area, They came across about 20 cars stranded there. Not all of them were mere utility vehicles, among them was a Toyota 4Runner of the latest generation, which sits on the same platform as the Land Cruiser or the Tacoma pick-up. Also in the images we see a RAV4.
The emergency vehicle was clearly insufficient to get that number of cars out of there, so they requested additional help to the Union County Department of Public Works: They sent a road grader. He was the one who opened the way by removing the snow so that the cars could get out of this snowy trap.
“This incident serves as an important reminder of the need to carefully evaluating, and often not following, directions provided by GPSespecially in the winter months,” details the rescue department in a Facebook post where they narrate this complex rescue in the middle of the night and which was not easy.
It all depends on the context, but in the middle of snowfall it is great advice. “Interstates and highways are the best routes through our region during winter conditions, and if they are closed due to weather or weather-related accidents, it is almost certainly not advisable and very dangerous to attempt alternative travel routes,” they conclude.
In the end, high-capacity main roads are the first to be visited by snow plows, as they are arteries that receive a lot of traffic. It’s common sense. The moral here is clear: If we can check that alternative route that the GPS indicates, it is better to do so before accepting it.. A traffic jam where we are completely stopped is a good situation to do it safely if we don’t have anyone else in the car who can check it.
Getting stuck in the snow for hours is never a desirable situation. And it can be very dangerous if we go with just enough fuel or do not carry provisions with us. Hence, in the event of snowfall, the DGT recommends not taking the car unless we have no choice.
Furthermore, this chapter shows that even SUV models with a priori good off-road credentials and all-wheel drive are not saved either, although the tires are also decisive. Be that as it may, a “highway” like Ruckle Road is never a good alternative to a highway or main road, no matter how clogged it may be.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
