# Google Maps directions - if you keep taking the alternate route, will you ever get there?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-directions-if-you-keep-taking-the-alternate-route-will-you-ever-get-there/850556>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [March 29, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-directions-if-you-keep-taking-the-alternate-route-will-you-ever-get-there/850556 "2020-03-29T02:16:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-directions-if-you-keep-taking-the-alternate-route-will-you-ever-get-there/850556/1 "2020-03-29T02:16:13Z")

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I use Google Maps for driving directions a lot. I do sometimes laugh about the “alternate routes” that show up as I drive. For instance, if I turn off the freeway at the next exit, it will only add 10 minutes to my route. Or something like that. Notice I don’t mean reroutes for traffic, just the alternate suggestions.

What got in my head today, though, was what if each time one of these alternate, longer routes came up, I took it? Then I took the next one, and the next one? Would I ever actually get to my destination? It would be interesting to run this as some sort of simulation, because it sure would take a while in real life.

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-directions-if-you-keep-taking-the-alternate-route-will-you-ever-get-there/850556/2 "2020-03-29T11:33:14Z")

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Two conditions: (1) you never traverse the same road twice and (2) alternate routes available are guaranteed to reach the destination without violating the first rule.

Then there’s a finite number of such sets of paths and you will reach the destination.

If rule 1 is violated, then you can just drive in circles.

If rule 2 is violated but not rule 1, then you run out of options to reach the destination.

Graph Theory is quite useful.

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**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-maps-directions-if-you-keep-taking-the-alternate-route-will-you-ever-get-there/850556/3 "2020-03-29T12:48:46Z")

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It doesn’t always give you alternatives and sometimes those alternatives have a travel time of “Similiar ETA”. You will definitely get there.