WYDOT Warns GPS Devices Are Not Always Accurate When Roads Are Closed

While a GPS may be handy in helping motorists get from Point A to Point B, it may not always be accurate when a road is closed, and even less accurate when it suggests an alternate route.

WYDOT says they’ve had a number of incidents where a motorist tried to take a detour and ended up encountering worse road conditions than what was on the original main highway.

In some areas, signs have recently been posted to inform motorists that their GPS device is incorrect, and that they should not try to use the alternate road that they were planning to travel on.

Vince Garcia is the manager of WYDOT’s Geographic Information System and Intelligent Transportation Society (GIS-ITS).

He says most GPS devices don’t take highway conditions into account when it plans a course, and motorists need to resist the temptation to follow new directions.

“The navigation companies will often times take people and try to route them around an interstate closure for example, and put them on a county road. Many times those county roads are not maintained, they could be completely drifted, they could be impassable. We highly encourage people to just be patient. You could be taking your life into your own hands if you try to cheat the storm.”

Construction projects have also caused GPS devices to display bad travel information.

For example, earlier this year bridge work was done on I-90 at the Acme Interchange in Sheridan County.

Posted detours had motorists take the off and on ramps in that area to get around the bridges, however a number of GPS devices said the highway was completely closed, and plotted a long detour around the area.

There’s also been some reported confusion regarding the US Highway 14 railroad overpass bridge near Ranchester, that’s still being worked on.