Google’s Waze App Misdirects Traffic into New Jersey Wildlife Preserve

Google’s popular traffic app Waze has been updated after its directions left multiple drivers stranded on an unpaved road in a New Jersey wildlife preserve instead of directing them to the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.

CNN reports that Google-owned navigation app Waze recently directed a user to an unpaved road 45 miles away from the user’s actual destination of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to Jackson Police Department’s public information officer Lt. Christopher Parise.

The latest unfortunate driver was left stuck in the sand at Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, near Lake Success — nearly an hour from their desired destination. The problem was caused by an incorrect advertisement button attached to the Borgata Casino’s address on Waze.

Although the address of the ad was correctly listed as 1 Borgata Way in Atlantic City, when users clicked the ad the pinned location brought drivers to the middle of Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area.

Police discovered the error when an officer was called to assist a stranded car and the driver at the scene told the officer that they were headed to Borgata but ended up driving through the 12,000-acre wildlife area after following Waze’s directions.

“My department towed 10 cars in 5 days that were stuck,” Parise said. “A Waze response to the error report stated 249 others reported the same location error in the past couple days, so hundreds have been misled back there.”

In a statement to CNN, a Waze spokesperson said they “resolved the issue with the Borgata Hotel address on Monday within hours of it being flagged. Users can now navigate smoothly to the Borgata Hotel.”

Liza Costandino, the Borgata Hotel’s director of communications told CNN that the Waze advertisements have been removed and the Hotel and Casino is unaware of how the address error took place. “We encourage guests to reenter our correct address: 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ 08401 and to check the route before they begin driving to ensure the map is directing them to Atlantic City.”

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com