Hundreds of drivers recently arrived in a no-car zone in the old center of Munich. And it cost them, following police checks, even though it was not their fault. The phenomenon occurred due to erroneous information transmitted by the navigation service.

The drivers, who were guided by Google Maps, were caught by the police and the municipal traffic authority (KVÜ) in the Viktualienmarkt pedestrian area. Local residents and passers-by noticed that suddenly many unauthorized drivers were driving their cars in the pedestrian area, so they notified the authorities.

Thus, hundreds of drivers have been caught by controllers in recent weeks, Bild.de first reported. The total amount of fines is more than 17 thousand euros.

Error 50 euros

The local administration carried out inspections in the old town (Altstadt) for six days, starting on June 20. Since then, he has issued more than 342 fines of 50 euros each. “Car traffic in the area is quite dangerous, there are many people in a small space,” said the spokeswoman of the administration.

Why did the popular navigation service send drivers to the prohibited zone? A police spokesman told Bild.de: “The system probably recorded many trips by taxi drivers, cyclists, etc. and then changed the rules. At least that’s what a Google employee told us.”

Delivery vehicles may also have played a role, according to a local government spokesman. Users of the mentioned roads are exempt from the ban on the Viktualienmarkt.

Is Google getting away with it?

Despite the mistake, drivers fined in Munich probably cannot blame the American concern Google, because the driver is responsible for driving, not the navigation system. After the administration in Munich reported the error to the US concern, it was corrected in the Google database.

However, this is not the first time that Google Maps sends “nonsense”, there have been other errors that later cost the driver. According to German media, last summer the app directed many Mallorcan tourists to the historic streets around the island’s cathedral, where cars are prohibited. (photo: Dreamstime.com)