Data in Puerto Rico bad

I don't know if this would effect the accuracy but I think you should run the maps from the unit itself (much faster access than from an SD card). Hopefully you took some notes on the errors so you can report them to garmin or navteq. Which could aid in upcoming maps.

The new map updates for the Garmin and Magellan fixed a lot of problems. However, with that said, you have to be extremely cautious when using a GPS in PR. I'm a Federal investigator and have to work there quite often. I have noticed that PR likes to change the one-way direction on streets quite frequently, so beware when making turns. The hardest challenges about using a GPS in PR are (1)addresses are in Spanish--that is if you look George Avenue you'll never find it. It would likely be listed as Avenida Jorge; (2) every location in PR has virtually 2 addresses--physical and mailing. These may not be the same. You must use physical addresses to find things; (3) VERY FEW houses or buildings have numbers so you have to guess; (4) street and road signs are almost as scarce: (5) many locations use a distance measurement to designate a location--for example a location may have an address of Carr 124, Km. 12.5; and (6) there may be 15 identical addresses in the same town for the same street and house number (remember most houses are NOT marked with numbers)--depending on the Urb or Bo (Urbanization project or Borough) in which the street is located. Don't mean to scare you but the maps are OK, it's finding stuff that's difficult.

I have just returned from PR this past Monday...Most of the data I put on my 750 was good - not 100% but close ...

A couple of the places I wanted to eat were easily found and only two or three were 100% wrong

Yes, i can vouch on that for you. That is so true in here [Puerto Rico]. Street directions are constantly changing. Also there is a tendancy to change street names also(but thats not so common). There are some highway exits that don't have a number. Some street signs are confusing even for the natives let alone the tourists.

I purchased a Magellan Roadmate 1412 like a month ago.
So far its been pretty accurate with street & such. My only personal vexation is that there aren't many POI's to choose from. I read somewhere (magellan site, perhaps) that maps get updated every 15 months. Personally i think thats an awful long time to wait for updates. Maybe that explains why when i go to a local big mall here my GPS just shows a blank green turf. There are even streets and business buildings (banks, fast food, restaurants, auto shops, etc.) inside that mall quadrant. And that mall in particular is around 9-10 years old.

Anyway so Ive been traveling with my GPS and trying to add POI's on my own. Hopefully the list will be shown here.

I live here in Puerto Rico, and I have found many many errors on my Nuvi. First, there are house or building numbers that are a few hundred feet away from where the GPS say that they are.

Also there are some country roads that will let you to the same destination and the unit tells you to go throuhg those roads instead of keeping on the main road even when the functions are set to keep you on main roads.

To say more, I work in a place that used to be an empty space three years ago, now it's a big complex with parking lot, Police, Fire, Ambulance and Rescue services.. It simply does not show on the display instead it says that I'm off-roading.

Is there a way that I can fix that for my GPS? like draw the missing roads and the parking lot?

First, I would update your maps. But even then, they can be out of date, the same as paper maps.

It is what it is, compadre.

"Bo"is an abbreviation for Barrio (neighborhood) rather than borough. "Urb" is an abbreviation for Urbanization which is a housing development rather than a project.

I've used the GPS very successfully in Puerto Rico but it's not infallible. You will need to have a paper map on hand to compensate for the issues mentioned by ronboman.

Not to minizime those issues, but in my experience of traveling extensively and living on the island, I have found that in urban and suburban areas, including housing developments, addresses on homes and businesses are fairly common. Lawn or exterior house decoration usually shows the house number. For rural areas, I completely agree with ronboman, as that would be the same anywhere in rural areas in the US mainland, where street names and house numbers are not in common use in many areas.

As he mentioned, street names are a challenge. For example, Avenida de Diego is not De Diego Avenue as you might see it on an internet site. Garmin has it in Spanish so you would have to translate to the local language (yes, that would be Spanish) when searching. Rule of thumb, if you can't find an address in English, then just try it in Spanish. One of the two will work.

I would be interested to see how the new map works in PR. Anyone have an address, or addresses to test?

Sorry For hijacking this thread but can someone local in PR please verify this location:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/28356

Thanks

I know this topic is a bit old and has been dead for a while, but wanted to add my own comments.

I live in Puerto Rico and purchased a GPS navigator mostly for when I travel to the US. However I have used it locally quite a bit. Directions are generally accurate. It's finding addresses what is difficult due to the inherent differences in the ways addresses are given here in PR compared to the US. One complication is that the "urbanization" or barrio name appears as the city when the city is normally the municipality where it is located as far as physical and postal addresses are concerned. House number accuracy is just as good as in many places in the US. I have run into several places in the US with the same problem. Numbers do not represent actual numbers and are just interpolated through many streets.

I have found errors regarding one-way restrictions and also a few odd things at some intersections and missing streets that have been there since the beginning of time. Well, not that long but long enough to be in maps.

Outside of PR I have used my GPS mostly in Massachusetts and have taken it twice driving from MA to NYC. Map accuracy is mostly as good here as it is there. I have done far more driving here with the GPS so I am bound to find more errors here.

One trick I have used here in PR to find places I have never been before and use the GPS is to find the place in Google Earth first where I can see aerial images and then find the location in the GPS map. Then I tell it to take me there. Works every time.

In summary, your experience will be as good as the maps being used.

Thanks for the perspective of a local when checking the maps out. This is always very helpful.

What is your map version?

Please visit Navteq.com and submit fixes to the database.