Mahindra Thar Driver Following Google Maps At Night Drives Into River: Rescued [Video]

Everyone travelling by road often relies on Google Maps for convenience. But for many, this convenient feature is turning into a nightmare. We have come across several incidents in the past where Google Maps has misguided travellers, and they have found themselves in trouble. A recent incident comes from Kerala, where a Mahindra Thar owner drove the vehicle into a river after following Google Maps.
The video has been shared by Asianet News on their YouTube channel. As per the reports, the accident happened in the Alappuzha district of Kerala. The owner of the Mahindra Thar SUV, Bony, was travelling in his vehicle from Kothamangalam, Ernakulam to Punnamada, Alappuzha at night.
He was travelling to Punnamada for Ayurvedic treatment when this accident happened. As the car was being driven at night, the driver was relying on Google Maps. The driver followed the directions blindly. At one point, the maps asked him to take a narrow road, as it was probably a shortcut.
The driver took the turn and started driving on the narrow road. After a point, the road got narrower, and the car ended up in the canal or river next to the road. As soon as the Thar fell into the river, locals gathered around the vehicle and jumped in to rescue him.
They rescued the driver in no time. The lower half of the SUV was completely underwater. This is not the first time we have come across an incident like this online. Kerala has been getting heavy rains, and many roads are flooded. If you are travelling in a car at night, please be aware of the surroundings and do not follow the maps blindly.
If Google Maps is asking you to deviate from a main road to a narrow by-lane, try to avoid this, as the maps might be showing you the fastest route. The application will always show you an alternate route as soon as it detects that you have not taken the recommended one.
Also, if you are travelling to a new place, always try to ask locals about the route to ensure that you don’t end up like the Mahindra Thar in this case.
The driver was lucky that the locals rescued him on time. The report mentions that once the driver was rescued, the SUV was recovered from the canal using a crane. It doesn’t look like a deep canal, which is another good thing in this case.
A few weeks ago, we came across a report where a tourist travelling in a Kia Seltos drove the car into the steps of a church after he followed Google Maps. Similarly, a truck driver and his assistant/helper found themselves in the middle of a reservoir at night and had to swim their way out, all because they followed the route that Google Maps showed them.
An unfortunate incident was reported from Uttar Pradesh, where three men travelling in a Maruti Suzuki WagonR died after falling off an incomplete bridge at the Bareilly-Budaun border. It was found that these men had been relying on Google Maps for their route, which did not highlight that the bridge was dangerous.