Wasted 45 minutes

I bet you have "avoid toll roads" set on your GPS. When you try to get from southern Ontario to the US, basically, this can't be done as all the bridges and tunnels are toll, so your TomTom sent you to a ferry. When you didn't like that, it calculated the very long alternative just to avoid having to use a bridge or tunnel where you'd have to pay a toll.

I had the same thing happen to me when I was in the Upper Peninsular of Michigan this past summer. The Garmin wanted to route me hundreds of miles through Wisconsin and Illinois, rather than pay the toll for the Mackinac Bridge. Generally, I prefer to take the back roads when I travel, but that detour was ridiculous. Thankfully, I caught it before I started driving. The Garmin doesn't have any common sense, and it takes those avoidance settings literally!

been in that situation before...not pretty.

For longer trips, it's a good idea to get in the habit to review the full map to ensure it makes sense. I've had similar issues too.

That's the problem with those damned computers. They do what you tell them to do, not what you want them to do!

With best wishes,
- Tom -

Well put, you tell it to avoid tolls and that's what the software will follow. Don't blame the GPS.

Don't always trust a gps.

I did not get the impression that he was blaming the GPS, just that he was providing a note of caution about the potential unintended consequences of the settings you make.

With best wishes,
- Tom -

When in Canada or the USA I have my GPS set to avoid toll roads and ferries.

About 3 years ago I crossed the border at Laredo into Mexico and once I was about 45 minutes south of Nuevo Laredo on the toll road the Garmin was driving me nuts telling me to take the next exit. Until it clicked in my mind that I had to change the setting to take toll roads. So now I just remember that each fall and spring to adjust my settings for toll roads.