Traffic chaos in Perthshire villages after Google Maps glitch

A Google Maps glitch has caused chaos after traffic was mistakenly diverted from the A9 to a single-track road between Dunkeld and Pitlochry.

The issue - which was first noticed on Friday - saw vehicles, including campervans, leave the trunk road and travel through the Perthshire villages of Ballinluig, Tulliemet and Guay.

On Saturday Transport Scotland posted on X on that Google Maps was falsely reporting the A9 as closed and was recommending an "inconvenient alternate route" when it remained open.

The problem now appears to be resolved but local residents said the inaccurate information left them worried and, in some cases, unable to leave their homes.

"People were just doing as Google said but the excessive speed was unbelievable," Joanne Boyne, who lives in Guay, told BBC Scotland News.

"Traffic was going in both directions so when cars came to a section where nobody could pass, everyone had to reverse."

She said the U163 road is a single-track road with no designated passing places.

The winding and narrow nature of the road and the overgrown trees and bushes make it unsafe to drive fast.

But over the weekend, she saw campervans, a large coach and cars with trailers - one towing a boat - all drive down it, some at speeds as fast as 40mph.

"We were really worried about trying to get to potential appointments or if there was an emergency," Boyne said.

The bumper-to-bumper traffic meant there would have been no space for an ambulance or fire engine to get past if something was to happen, which was a serious concern in the community.

Boyne's parents live about three miles away from her Tulliemet.

"My parents live on the road and they have not been able to leave their house since Friday - even to go for a walk - because it has been too dangerous," she said.

The drive from her house to her parents' house would normally take her about 10 minutes but, when she went to check on them at the weekend, it took her almost 45 minutes to get there.

Joanne added that she struggled to get to work at about 07:50 on Monday as there were three cars waiting to turn onto the road from the A9, which is unusual.

Laura Hansler, from the A9 Dual Action campaign group, said the bug was fixed after a member of the group contacted the Google Maps team in London.

But she said problems appear on Google Maps now and again but she did not know what causes them.

Laura added that Google Maps had previously shown incorrect speed limits on sections of the trunk road.

"It is not an old diversion that was never cancelled, it is one of these daft diversions that make no sense," she said.

"Sometimes it will tell you the road is closed because there has been a collision but sometimes Google Maps acts up for no reason."

Google has been contacted for comment.

Laura said people who drive on the A9 tend to use a satnav as a safety feature to avoid collisions and roadworks.

She added many of the diversion routes are unsuitable for large vehicles and volumes of traffic.

"People are using them proactively and on the A9 when someone sees a diversion, they automatically presume it is because something has happened," she said.

"If these maps are not updated, it will cause an accident, which was my biggest fear at the weekend.

"It was just out of hand."

Laura said she had been in touch with Transport Scotland and the Scottish government on several occasions about the issue.

But Transport Scotland told her it did not have a direct relationship or feed to satellite navigation providers, such as Google.

The campaign group is now seeking further response from the government on the problem and calling for action to be taken to prevent future incidents.