Mid-winter in the Colorado Rockies is no time to mess with Mother Nature.  The safe route, known by Mr. Bahney, took a roundabout direction.  It also happens to be the route Google Maps and Yahoo Maps provide when you search the same start and end points.

So how could Mapquest have gotten it so wrong?  Clearly the search criteria mindlessly spits out the most direct route to a destination.  Google’s directions on the Telluride-Silverton voyage gave us a route of 70.5 miles, for an estimated time of 1 hour and 48 minutes of driving.  Yahoo’s was slightly longer at 73.2 miles, for an estimated 2 hours and 18 minutes of driving.  How did Google and Yahoo know that Tomboy Pass, in February, would put us right in the lion’s den? 

You always hear about vehicular malfunctions that lead to deaths and require massive recalls.  You even read about computer batteries that explode and put you at risk for blindness, and worse.  But when was the last time you heard about an online mapping company causing a death because of its faulty directions, which fail to take the time of year into account?  You might’ve heard of one last weekend had it not been for local knowledge, something the majority of travelers don’t have.

So for now, if you’re worried about road conditions on a trip you’ve never taken in an area you’ve never been, I’d go with Google and Yahoo Maps.  Though they might take you out of the way, they’ll do their best not to kill you.

Scott Goldberg