Google Maps incorrectly reported the A9 trunk road in Scotland as closed between Dunkeld and Pitlochry, causing the navigation app to divert drivers onto a narrow single-track road through Perthshire villages instead. The mistaken guidance created gridlock as campervans, coaches and cars attempted to navigate the U163, prompting Traffic Scotland to urge motorists to disregard their sat-navs and remain on the main route, which was actually open despite ongoing roadworks.

The U163 is an unclassified single-track road with no passing places, designed to serve only a handful of villages near the A9. The unexpected traffic influx turned journeys that normally take minutes into hour-long ordeals, affecting Ballinluig, Tulliemet and Guay. Google Maps uses algorithms analysing anonymised location data from users' phones to determine routes and incorporate information on roadworks and closures. A Google spokesman acknowledged it was a "technical issue that temporarily showed inaccurate road closures" which the company has since removed.