Chaos ensued on German roads this week after Google Maps wrongly knowledgeable drivers that highways all through the nation have been closed throughout a busy vacation. Lots of the apparently closed roads have been positioned close to massive German cities and metropolitan areas, together with Berlin, Düsseldorf and Dortmund.

As reported by a domestically primarily based journalist for , drivers opening Google’s navigation app would see a swarm of purple dots used to point no-go areas, which resulted in individuals on the lookout for different routes that triggered site visitors pile-ups nationwide. The Guardian additionally reported that police and native authorities have been contacted by individuals confused (and presumably fairly irritated) in regards to the supposed standstill.

To compound the problem, the Google Maps error coincided with the start of Germany’s Ascension Day public vacation on Could 29, which meant the roads have been even busier than normal.

The issue reportedly solely lasted for a couple of hours and by Thursday afternoon solely real highway closures have been being displayed. It’s not clear whether or not Google Maps had simply malfunctioned, or if one thing extra nefarious was accountable. “The data in Google Maps comes from a wide range of sources. Data similar to areas, road names, boundaries, site visitors knowledge, and highway networks comes from a mixture of third-party suppliers, public sources, and person enter,” a spokesperson for Google advised German newspaper , including that it’s internally reviewing the issue. “Typically, these sources present a robust basis for complete and up-to-date maps.”

Technical points with Google Maps aren’t unusual. Again in March, that their Timeline — which retains monitor of all of the locations you’ve visited earlier than for future reference — had been wiped, with Google later confirming that some individuals had certainly had their knowledge deleted, and in some circumstances, wouldn’t be capable of get well it.