MARBLE, Colo. - You may have heard stories about people getting lost or stranded because their GPS system took them the wrong way. It recently happened to a family traveling through Oregon who ended up stranded in the wilderness for 3 days. But we've discovered a road that's left dozens of families stranded right here in Colorado.
It looks like any other road, but locals will tell you County Road 3 is anything but.
"It's an old mining road, and they stopped maintaining it back in the 1800's. It's impassable in the winter and in the summer," says Larry Good.
Good owns a lodge at the foot of the road. He's welcomed dozens stranded drivers who often end up walking out of the wilderness and leaving their car behind.
"There have been a lot of families stranded up there. We had a family with an infant stay the night in their car. We had a couple who thought they were going to a hot tub party in Crested Butte, but they never made it. They ended up walking down the road in the middle of night instead," says Good.
The problem is that GPS and MapQuest tell drivers that County Road 3 in Marble, Colorado is the fastest way to get to Mount Crested Butte if you're traveling Interstate 70.
Drivers often believe their GPS systems over the posted warning signs, which say "No Winter Maintenance" and "4-Wheel Drive Vehicles Only."
Lee Brian Scott knows that first hand.
"You could have an accident. You could have an avalanche. You could run out of gas," he says. The fire investigator was on his way to a fire in Crested Butte when his GPS told him he would get their faster if he took County Road 3.
"My computer said 20 minutes more to Crested Butte." But when the steep mountain road turned into a single track, Scott realized something was wrong.
He pulled up next to a mountain biker and asked "when does this road widen out?"
He says the biker looked at him like he was crazy, and said "you're serious right?" The biker later told Scott the road was dangerous for drivers.
"He said people fall off the road into the valley."
Scott wants to warn other drivers about the potential danger.
Good says he complained to MapQuest, but nothing changed.
"So far, we haven't had any tragedies, but there could easily be a tragedy."
We contacted a spokesperson for Garmin GPS, and he sent us this statement:
"Thank you for alerting us to this situation. Garmin automotive devices use detailed maps that we purchase from NAVTEQ, and we are contacting them about this road. We do our absolute best to make sure that our maps are up to date and accurate. However, drivers must always remember that GPS devices provide route suggestions; they do not cause drivers to make driving decisions. It is the responsibility of drivers to exercise common sense at all times when driving, including deference to posted road signs and road conditions (which Garmin reminds its customers about in our product documentation), such as the "No Winter Maintenance" sign that is posted on the road in question. It is ultimately the responsibility of all drivers -- whether using GPS navigation or not -- to be fully aware of their surroundings and navigate accordingly."
We believe NAVTEQ has already corrected the problem because when we tried to re-create the route just before our story aired, our GPS system wouldn't take us that way.
It looks like any other road, but locals will tell you County Road 3 is anything but.
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"It's an old mining road, and they stopped maintaining it back in the 1800's. It's impassable in the winter and in the summer," says Larry Good.
Good owns a lodge at the foot of the road. He's welcomed dozens stranded drivers who often end up walking out of the wilderness and leaving their car behind.
"There have been a lot of families stranded up there. We had a family with an infant stay the night in their car. We had a couple who thought they were going to a hot tub party in Crested Butte, but they never made it. They ended up walking down the road in the middle of night instead," says Good.
The problem is that GPS and MapQuest tell drivers that County Road 3 in Marble, Colorado is the fastest way to get to Mount Crested Butte if you're traveling Interstate 70.
Drivers often believe their GPS systems over the posted warning signs, which say "No Winter Maintenance" and "4-Wheel Drive Vehicles Only."
Lee Brian Scott knows that first hand.
"You could have an accident. You could have an avalanche. You could run out of gas," he says. The fire investigator was on his way to a fire in Crested Butte when his GPS told him he would get their faster if he took County Road 3.
"My computer said 20 minutes more to Crested Butte." But when the steep mountain road turned into a single track, Scott realized something was wrong.
He pulled up next to a mountain biker and asked "when does this road widen out?"
He says the biker looked at him like he was crazy, and said "you're serious right?" The biker later told Scott the road was dangerous for drivers.
"He said people fall off the road into the valley."
Scott wants to warn other drivers about the potential danger.
Good says he complained to MapQuest, but nothing changed.
"So far, we haven't had any tragedies, but there could easily be a tragedy."
We contacted a spokesperson for Garmin GPS, and he sent us this statement:
"Thank you for alerting us to this situation. Garmin automotive devices use detailed maps that we purchase from NAVTEQ, and we are contacting them about this road. We do our absolute best to make sure that our maps are up to date and accurate. However, drivers must always remember that GPS devices provide route suggestions; they do not cause drivers to make driving decisions. It is the responsibility of drivers to exercise common sense at all times when driving, including deference to posted road signs and road conditions (which Garmin reminds its customers about in our product documentation), such as the "No Winter Maintenance" sign that is posted on the road in question. It is ultimately the responsibility of all drivers -- whether using GPS navigation or not -- to be fully aware of their surroundings and navigate accordingly."
We believe NAVTEQ has already corrected the problem because when we tried to re-create the route just before our story aired, our GPS system wouldn't take us that way.
