20 Vehicles Stranded in Union County following incorrect GPS maps
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, November 22nd, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY – GPS may have revolutionized navigation, but it is far from infallible. Changing conditions combined with local geography don’t always translate correctly with certain apps and software. When conditions or accidents block common travel routes, it’s often better to simply stay put and wait it out as GPS systems can unintentionally direct drivers through remote, dangerous, or entirely impassible areas.
A large group of motorists found this out the hard way when high winds disrupted traffic along I-84 earlier this week, and their GPS’s sent them driving haplessly into the snow-filled back country of Union County. The following post from Union County Search and Rescue explains the full story:
(Release from Union County Search and Rescue)
“On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 20, 2024, Union County 911 received an iPhone satellite SOS report of a stranded vehicle on Ruckle Road. Ruckle Road is a rough and steep gravel road near Summerville in Union County, and it is not maintained for winter travel. SAR was immediately notified of the first call, and shortly thereafter Union County 911 began receiving other similar iPhone satellite SOS reports in the same area, which has little to no conventional cell phone service.
Responders and dispatchers initially believed that there was just one vehicle with multiple occupants, but soon learned that there were multiple vehicles stranded in the snow approximately 6 miles up the road from where it intersects Craig Loop. SAR had initiated a response with a tracked UTV, and after learning of the number of stranded vehicles, the SAR Coordinator contacted Union County Public Works for assistance.
County Public Works responded with a road grader to attempt to plow an escape path for the stranded vehicles. Over the next several hours, SAR and Public Works worked into the dark getting vehicles un-stuck and turned around to safely leave the area. In total, SAR and Public Works assisted approximately 20 stuck and/or stranded vehicles. All of the vehicles had travelled down the road following GPS directions in an attempt to avoid traffic delays on I-84, which was closed earlier in the day.
This incident serves as an important reminder of the need to carefully evaluate, and often not follow, GPS-provided directions, especially in winter months. The interstate and highways are the best routes through our region during winter conditions, and if they are closed due to weather, or weather-related crashes, it is almost certainly ill-advised and very dangerous to attempt alternate travel routes.
In addition to our incredible SAR volunteers who make time in their busy schedules to respond to calls like this, we would like to extend a particular thanks to Union County Public Works for assisting us with this incident. Without the assistance of the road grader, the vehicles would have had to be abandoned where they were leading to a far larger problem due to the quantity of vehicles and number of people involved.”
