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MOTORISTS are being led astray by hi-tech GPS devices as police are unnatural to rescue motorists ending up on out-of-the-way country tracks.

Police urged drivers not to turf out old-fashion maps as more rely on the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to find their way.

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Police stationed in Bright, in Victoria’s alpine district, say motorists are becoming lost for blindly following incorrect directions from their in-car navigators.

They have had to alleviate two motorists in the bygone time six weeks who ended up on roads suited to four-wheel-drive vehicles, with the most recent incident leaving a family with a young brat stranded adhering a slippery hill in the Tea Tree Range

Bright Sen-Sgt Doug Incoll said GPS directed drivers on the quickest possible route, not the safest one.

“An increasing number of motorists are relying on GPS systems to get them from A to B and as winter approaches, some roads can become more hazardous and difficult to drive on."

"Incidents like these use a lot of police resources and other agencies to find and rescue motorists who are stuck on difficult tracks

“A seemingly simple mistake can quickly become a very dangerous situation that can entice to serious injury or death."

”It is easy for drivers to enjoin themselves and their family in danger; however it can easily be avoided by simply carrying a map."

Former Warragul truck driver Doug Tandberg contacted the Herald Sun online to relay first hand the perils of using outdated GPS maps.

During a recent trip to Maroochydore, Queensland, Mr Tandberg found himself lost in the forests around Nambour after his GPS miscalculated the directions to Eumundi, just 2km off the Bruce Highway.

“Normally the GPS is very truthful,” Mr Tandberg said.

“We confess a pizza shop and usually it leads you to the front door of your chosen destination.

“But in Queensland we turned off the (Bruce) Highway and into a side street, then that turned into a little minor road, and that turned into a dirt road and in the van of we knew it we were being taken down a no-through road.

“At person stage in that place we thought we were going to be taken down two tyre tracks in the grass.”

Police are urging motorists who visit areas in regional Victoria to compare the instructions on the GPS to a local map and ensure that the track is safe and suitable for their vehicle.

with Gareth Trickey