Thread View: alt.comp.google
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Started by Some Guy
Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:52
Woman sues Google Maps over walking directions (she gets hit by a car)
Author: Some Guy
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:52
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:52
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http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15199273 Apparently, this lady wanted to walk from where a trailer rental place to the Park Regency Hotel (yes, I checked myself with Google Maps since the news article kindly gave her exact departure and destination addresses) in Park City, UT. Part of the "shortest route" took her via a busy rural state highway with "no pedestrian sidewalks." While walking there, she was struck and injured by an allegedly negligent motorist. She then sued both the motorist, and Google. Google? At first I thought, what's she talking about? Directions are directions are directions. All they tell you is the shortest route from point A to point B. Then, when I actually went to plot her route on Google Maps, I saw that Google offers you the choice of directions optimized for driving, walking, bicycling, or public transit. So, I continued to process the request for "walking" directions from A to B. The default view in my Google window shows an actual aerial photo view (easily toggled to a map view). By enlarging (zooming in) the view, ne can clearly see that the roadway in question runs thru undeveloped scrubland (low bushes and underbrush) for about a mile, is 4 lanes wide, and has what appears to be a paved shoulder as well as an adjacent (non-paved) dirt outer shoulder that can also be walked upon, along both sides of the roadway. Google Maps also offered a choice between 3 different routings, and gave the estimated walking time for each, which varied by only a minute or two. Plaintiff chose the shortest one, which Google said would take her 33 minutes, although the longest suggested route, along Park Avenue running through town instead of along the edge of town, was only 0.1 miles longer and would take 34 minutes. So, should Google be liable if they direct you to drive your car into a river where a bridge is supposed to be, but isn't? (Somebody did that in Holland IIRC, a few years ago, at night, using GPS. A shame, too, as they were driving a brand new Mercedes.) If there is a pothole or a broken sidewalk or some other dangerous condition on the route Google selects for you to walk, should they be liable for that too? How much responsibility should the traveler take for his or her own choice of route, based on all the known information? And even after choosing a route, who is responsible to alert or warn the traveler of hazards that might be encountered? In other words, what tort duty to avoid injury, if any, does Google have toward people who use their free mapping service to obtain directions and then get injured due to dangerous conditions they encounter along the way? Discuss.
Re: Woman sues Google Maps over walking directions (she gets hit by a car)
Author: chuckcar
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:58
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:58
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Some Guy <Some@Guy.com> wrote in news:4C085C62.6B01073@Guy.com: > http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15199273 > Trailer park. why is that not a surprise to me. None if there's signs on that freeway saying "No pedestrians etc" like there are here. She's an idiot IMHO even *if* her story is completely true. -- (setq (chuck nil) car(chuck) )
Re: Woman sues Google Maps over walking directions (she gets hit by a car)
Author: Rick
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:03
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:03
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Some Guy wrote: > http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15199273 > > Apparently, this lady wanted to walk from where a trailer rental place > to the Park Regency Hotel (yes, I checked myself with Google Maps > since the news article kindly gave her exact departure and destination > addresses) in Park City, UT. Part of the "shortest route" took her > via a busy rural state highway with "no pedestrian sidewalks." While > walking there, she was struck and injured by an allegedly negligent > motorist. She then sued both the motorist, and Google. Google? > > At first I thought, what's she talking about? Directions are > directions are directions. All they tell you is the shortest route > from point A to point B. Then, when I actually went to plot her route > on Google Maps, I saw that Google offers you the choice of directions > optimized for driving, walking, bicycling, or public transit. > > So, I continued to process the request for "walking" directions from A > to B. The default view in my Google window shows an actual aerial > photo view (easily toggled to a map view). By enlarging (zooming in) > the view, ne can clearly see that the roadway in question runs thru > undeveloped scrubland (low bushes and underbrush) for about a mile, is > 4 lanes wide, and has what appears to be a paved shoulder as well as > an adjacent (non-paved) dirt outer shoulder that can also be walked > upon, along both sides of the roadway. Google Maps also offered a > choice between 3 different routings, and gave the estimated walking > time for each, which varied by only a minute or two. Plaintiff chose > the shortest one, which Google said would take her 33 minutes, > although the longest suggested route, along Park Avenue running > through town instead of along the edge of town, was only 0.1 miles > longer and would take 34 minutes. > > So, should Google be liable if they direct you to drive your car into > a river where a bridge is supposed to be, but isn't? (Somebody did > that in Holland IIRC, a few years ago, at night, using GPS. A shame, > too, as they were driving a brand new Mercedes.) If there is a > pothole or a broken sidewalk or some other dangerous condition on the > route Google selects for you to walk, should they be liable for that > too? How much responsibility should the traveler take for his or her > own choice of route, based on all the known information? And even > after choosing a route, who is responsible to alert or warn the > traveler of hazards that might be encountered? > > In other words, what tort duty to avoid injury, if any, does Google > have toward people who use their free mapping service to obtain > directions and then get injured due to dangerous conditions they > encounter along the way? Discuss. Google 'directions' can occasionally send you the wrong way on a One-Way street: "But officer, GOOGLE said ..." Can she offer PROOF that she was indeed following Google's output? Did she have a printout, IP records, etc? Didn't I hear about someone who requested directions "by auto" to Hawaii from Ohio or somesuch? And Google obliged!? Was she walking FACING traffic?
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