Californians were left in a pickle after GPS took them on a shortcut through Nevada desert

  • Los Angeles tourists claim to have been  misdirected by Google Maps
  • To avoid the traffic caused by a dust storm, they took a GPS ‘shortcut’
  • However, they ended up stranded in the desert

Published on Dec 01, 2024 at 6:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

Last updated on Nov 26, 2024 at 8:20 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

Los Angeles tourists were leaving the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the US state of Nevada, when they were misdirected by Google Maps – as their GPS ‘shortcut’ turned into a far more scenic and treacherous route than they’d realized.

It took them off-road along a desert path.

What’s more, they found themselves in several cars in the middle of a dust storm.

They were left scared, stranded – and possibly a little suspicious of their GPS directions in the future.

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The ill-advised GPS shortcut

TikToker Shelby Easler was traveling home from the Las Vegas GP with friends when they put a little too much faith into modern technology.

They’d been enjoying the Las Vegas Grand Prix – although presumably, they had tickets and weren’t employing the same hack as some cunning fans.

Sadly, the shortcut was a gravel trail unsuitable for regular vehicles and they found themselves stranded during a dust storm that was causing the delays on Interstate 15 that sparked their search for a ‘shortcut’.

“We ironically thought it would be a safer option, and it did say it would be 50 minutes faster,” she shared.

However, it was actually ‘two hours out of the way’.

In slightly different terrain, 20 cars following GPS were all stuck on a snowy road in Oregon last month.

Plus a BMW driver got his $145,000 B3 Touring stuck on an Austrian hiking trail after blindly following his GPS.

Forced to abandon the car

@justdoingshelbythings Still stuck in vegas send help 😭 #vegas #stuckinthedesert #f1 #freewayclosed #offroading #trafficjam #lost #sos #wherearewe #desert #donkeys ♬ origineel geluid – Tik Toker

Emergency services were called due to them feeling ‘trapped’, but were reportedly told that personnel were preoccupied with the ongoing dust storm.

“The path was like dug into the ground, so we couldn’t really turn around. There were cars in front of us, cars behind us so we kind of got pinned,” she added.

Forced to drive over ‘bushes and rocks’ before the vehicle broke down, the car was so ‘scratched up’ that the group was forced to abandon their damaged car in the Nevada desert to fly home.

@justdoingshelbythings Replying to @moomoolatte ♬ original sound – shelby

A separate trove of decaying classic cars and boats was also found in the Nevada desert – although we presume that they didn’t just get lost.

Google made a statement to The New York Post in response to the TikTok allegations: “During unpredictable conditions, we work as quickly as possible to update routing based on information from local authorities and sudden changes to driving patterns.

“We’re investigating the issue that happened over the weekend, and can confirm that we’re routing drivers through Interstate 15 since it’s been reopened.”

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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”