Once again, Apple Maps is called "dangerous"

You might remember back in December when police in Australia called Apple Maps "life-threatening" because mistakes in the maps could lead a person to get lost in the Outback. The problem is that the town of Mildura is listed 43 miles away from where it is really located and those who travel to the city could find themselves lost without food, and cell service. One poor guy had to walk 24 hours just to get cell service.

The FireReady app for iOS

Now, it is the Country Fire Authority in Victoria (CFA) who is calling Apple Maps "dangerous". It all has to do with the Agency's FireReady app for iOS, which is used by citizens to report bushfires. The app is required to use Apple Maps and the maps turned out to be inaccurate. "Macedon and a number of other Victorian towns are located incorrectly," said the firefighters. Once a fire is reported, the firefighters are having problems getting to the location because of the inaccuracies. "Users report that towns are located on their maps at the center of the district rather than on the actual township itself," said a CFA spokesman.

Many complaints have been made regarding the potential danger of using Apple Maps with the FireReady app. One complaint noted that Apple Maps doesn't always show the name of the city or township, making it hard to find the exact location of a fire. CFA says that when it complained directly to Apple Australia, it was told to report the problem via the Apple Maps app. 

"We would advise FireReady app users with iOS6 installed on their devices to disregard Apple Maps township locations and instead focus on street names and the location of incidents & warnings in relation to their GPS location."-CFA

CFA suggested that people use more than one source for emergency information and noted that their website also shows warnings. Free from the shackles of the Apple ecosystem, the website uses Google Maps.

source: SydneyMorningHerald