Google Street View camera cars get lost
Thousands of people use its Street View service every day but, as these pictures seem to show - even Google's own mapping team get lost sometimes.
Launched in 2007, Google Street View allows 'armchair explorers' to virtually travel the world with a click of a mouse button
The trio of cars appears to be stranded on a remote stretch of road, while a confused man on the left of the photo looks to be frantically checking a roadside map while he calls for help.
The 'Street Viewmobiles', each equipped with nine, 2.5 metre-high multi-directional cameras, silently cruise the streets, taking pictures of city centres, side streets and even residential areas.
They have previously captured sunbathing girls, children fighting and even a man dressed as Paddington Bear waving at the camera, raising concerns about invasion of privacy.
But these potentially embarrassing snaps, taken in Elsrijkdreef, near Amsterdam, are the first time that the lens has been turned on the company and its fleet of black cars.
Launched in 2007, Google Street View allows 'armchair explorers' to virtually travel the world with a click of a mouse button.
It features locations on all seven continents, and its makers claim that 95 per cent of the UK has been mapped out on the company's servers.
Some users of the service, who accused the company's Google Maps mobile phone application of being unreliable, said that the picture showed that you can't always rely on technology.
One said: "This is why I still have an A to Z in my car. I often use Google Streetview, but I never rely on it completely or use it to plan routes."
Another added: "It told me to drive straight through a petrol station forecourt on one occasion."
A Google spokesperson denied the claims. She said: "It doesn't look to me like they're lost. The drivers undergo training so they know how to use the equipment and it looks like this might more likely be what they're doing".
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