Google Maps error triggers gridlock on Perthshire single-track road

A technical error in Google Maps caused significant traffic disruption in Perthshire after the navigation app mistakenly diverted vehicles off the A9 onto a narrow, unclassified single-track road.

The incident, which began on Friday, saw cars, campervans, and larger coaches routed onto the 163 road connecting Dunkeld and Pitlochry. The diversion passed through the villages of Ballinluig, Tulliemet, and Guay, overwhelming infrastructure not designed for high volumes of through-traffic.

By Saturday, Transport Scotland confirmed via social media platform X that the A9 remained open but noted that Google Maps was falsely displaying it as closed and suggesting an “inconvenient alternate route.” A Google spokesperson later stated that a technical issue had temporarily produced inaccurate road closure data, which has since been removed.

Despite the fix, residents reported that the fallout continued into the weekend. Joanne Boyne, a resident of Guay, described excessive speeding by drivers following the app’s instructions, with vehicles traveling at speeds up to 40mph on the winding, tree-lined road. The U163 lacks designated passing places, forcing drivers traveling in opposite directions to reverse when meeting on narrow sections.

“People were just doing as Google said but the excessive speed was unbelievable,” Boyne told BBC Scotland. She highlighted safety fears, noting that bumper-to-bumper congestion blocked the road, leaving no room for emergency services such as ambulances or fire engines to pass.

The situation left some residents, including Boyne’s parents in Tulliemet, unable to leave their homes for fear of the danger. Boyne reported that a journey that normally takes 10 minutes to visit her parents took nearly 45 minutes due to the gridlock.

Laura Hansler, from the A9 Dual Action campaign group, stated the bug was resolved only after a group member contacted Google Maps headquarters in London. Hansler criticized the nature of the diversion, describing it as nonsensical and distinct from standard roadwork detours. She also pointed out that Google Maps has a history of displaying incorrect speed limits and erroneous closures on the trunk road.

“People are using them proactively and on the A9 when someone sees a diversion, they automatically presume it is because something has happened,” Hansler said. “If these maps are not updated, it will cause an accident, which was my biggest fear at the weekend. It was just out of hand.”

Transport Scotland informed Hansler that it does not maintain a direct data feed or relationship with satellite navigation providers like Google. The campaign group is now urging the Scottish government to intervene and implement safeguards to prevent similar incidents in the future.