PC World reports that Lauren Rosenberg, a Los Angeles California native, is suing Google because Google Maps issued directions that told her to walk down a rural highway. According to PCW’s Sarah Jacobsson, Rosenberg was walking down the highway—which had no sidewalk or pedestrian paths—and was struck by a car. “She is suing Google for her medical expenses ($100,000), as well as punitive damages,†says Jacobsson. “She is also suing the driver who struck her, Patrick Harwood of Park City, Utah..." more at GOOGLE SUED FOR GIVING ‘BAD’ DIRECTIONS | LA Car
I'm suing Lauren Rosenberg for the mental distress that I will undoubtedly experience when Google Maps places bright red warning labels on all of their maps just to protect stupid people from themselves.
Google already has warning labels about just this sort of thing. However, she was using a Blackberry and stated that the warning was not displayed on the smaller device. Tom
Has she sued Blackberry™ yet? I think she might also consider suing the state of Utah for locating a highway in a dangerous area. :madgrin: This reminds me of the episode of The Office when Michael Scott is using the GPS in a rental car and takes a right turn into a lake.
This might be why Google no longer tells you to get from New York to Paris via swimming across the Atlantic Ocean. Hold on, I'd better check. . . Nope.
That's odd... i just checked it using my iPhone (I know, it's not a Blackberry, but it's pretty close). Using the built in app, it states at the beginning "Walking directions Beta: Use caution". She clearly wasn't using caution. Pulling up the google maps mobile website, the directions list has the warning very clear "Walking directions are in beta. Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths." So... is there a Google maps Blackberry application she was using that didn't have a warning shown for walking directions?
My older GPS once told me to turn the wrong way into a one-way street. I saw the "one-way" sign and drove past the turn. The annoying voice said "recalculating" and gave me new directions. Kind of sounds like Darwin Awards material when the woman didn't ask for non-highway directions, upon seeing that there was no sidewalk. I always ask MapQuest for non-highway directions if I'm going to be driving the three-legged clown car.
Good thing see did not input the route to Catalina, that drop off the Santa Monica Pier would have been quite a surprise..... We seem to ignoring the survival of the smartest rule... too many dummies are slipping thru!!!
I blame the use of car seats, bicycle helmets, and seat belts. I hope Google has the backbone to take this to court. Are all the nuts in California or does it just seem that way?
