John Deutzman's Blog

I'm sure most of you have gotten lost even though you spent hundreds of dollars on a GPS or used something like Mapquest to make sure you didn't get lost. I find all of these new systems fascinating and very useful but there are still some streets and addresses which are impossible to find. Of course this becomes a matter of life and death if the cops or fire department can't find your house. Police and fire departments rely on various systems to get them to destinations fast. The most important information is getting the right cross streets near your house.

In our story, the woman had burglar alarms accidentally go off and cops couldn't find her house. In her case those are automated calls from her burglar alarm system to her burglar alarm company to the New York City 911 system. Most 911 calls are made by real people and hopefully they would be able to clear up any address confusion. For example tell the operator "People always get lost coming to my house. We are at the intersection of Smith and Jones streets and here's how you get here..."

However it's difficult for someone who's having a heart attack or who's just been shot to give clear directions and that's why most systems automatically can tell where you are and how to get there. In fact, in many cases they can now pinpoint you if you are calling on a cell phone.

Doing this story I learned the following about mapping companies:

1) No matter what service you are using, the various companies welcome any suggestions you have about confusion or wrong addresses. They want people to call them with any mistakes. They will go out and check the information and make the changes.

2) If a mapping company makes changes, they generally make updates four times a year. If you have a GPS or any other system you are using, you need to download new information as frequently as possible to make sure you are up to date.

3) It seems most mapping companies rely on data provided by Navteq or Tele Atlas. Ultimately these two companies are the ones who need to be notified if there is a problem. Here are the links to their sites:

>>NAVTEQ.COM

>>TELEATLAS.COM