OpenStreetMap
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/26/137646147/the-gps-a-fatally-misleading-travel-companion?sc=fb&cc=fp
Will a Garmin route cars along tracks and dirt roads by default? Is it an issue with compiling the map to garmin format?
Should we tag tracks as 'motorcar=no' if the track is for jeeps and 4 wheel drive vehicles?
Discussion
Comment from JohnSmith on 27 July 2011 at 05:37
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:4wd_only%3Dyes
Comment from !i! on 27 July 2011 at 06:20
Well there are a lot of discussions and possibilities to modell restrictions via access=*, surface=*, smoothness=*, grade=* and so on.
All in all it's possible to bann specific vehicles from a route, even the representations aren't that exact, that it will allways fit that good for a specific scenario. But IMHO if its working, its fine :)
Comment from z-dude on 27 July 2011 at 06:24
I think I would interpret 4wd only as being a legislative thing, rather than a practicality.
Comment from c2r on 27 July 2011 at 07:39
It's like when people drive into the sea, or along railways because the Satnav "tells them" to do it... I'm not a fan..
Comment from Vincent de Phily on 27 July 2011 at 10:05
Or when drivers don't notice the one-way sign or any other sign that contradicts the GPS. All GPS manuals have a "dont trust the GPS as the only source of information" disclaimer for a reason. It's harsh, but dying after driving off the visible road in an omniously-named desert deserves a Darwin Award.
That said, we of course must strive to make the map correct. tracktype, smoothness and surface sound like the main contenders to me in this case. Didn't know about 4wd, but it looks more like an Australia-specific legal designation, not a generic tag.
Comment from netman55 on 27 July 2011 at 11:38
That what happens when you substitute your brain for a satnav. Get a lot of "foreign" trunk drivers round here doing crazy things following the GPS. Last one was a Polish driver who buried his 44 ton arctic in a boggy farm track which you would have trouble driving anything down it
Comment from Richard on 27 July 2011 at 12:08
The awesome-sounding ranger guy in question is Charlie Callagan, Charlie_Callagan@nps.gov . Maybe a US mapper working in this area could e-mail him and share his knowledge with OSM?
Comment from Rom1 on 28 July 2011 at 20:54
And what about adding a comment on OSM in http://www.npr.org/2011/07/26/137646147/the-gps-a-fatally-misleading-travel-companion?sc=fb&cc=fp ? No word about OSM in the 224 comments :(