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Blame Your Mistakes on Technology

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the pebkac-errors dept.

Techdirt has an quick look at how it is becoming much more common for people to blame their mistakes on technology. "There are people driving off cliffs and through flooded roads and taking detours that span half of England, apparently at the behest of their navigation units. Things got so bad in one place that authorities even had to put up "ignore your sat nav" signs. Now, a woman's car got hit by a train, and for some reason, she's blaming a GPS navigation unit."

4 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. Common Tech Support Nightmares by Null537 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I work for a company that makes software that is used for navigation, and there are a good amount of tech support calls complaining about how the "program sent us down an unmarked dirt road!" They don't seem to realize that they drove themselves down the dirt road, on the suggestion of a computer. I think we've all seen our GPS's be off by a bit, some people are missing the fact that nothing is perfect, especially not a box with a tiny screen.

  2. Re:The trouble with your argument is by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, in the McDonalds case it was not the issue of spilling coffee that was in question. The woman admitted she spilt the coffee, and it was a stupid thing to do.

    The issue was that McDonalds like to keep their coffee at about 98C because it lasts longer that way. Most people drink coffee at about 60C, any more and it burns you. Most people do not expect to be severly burned by coffee, because it is usually not hot enough. McDonalds, in an attempt to save money by brewing fewer pots, handed her a cup of dangerous liquid without any warning. Even if she had sipped the coffee, it would have burnt her mouth.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  3. The car was not moving during the coffee incident by Captain+Nitpick · · Score: 5, Informative

    When you now go ahead and put that so effing HOT cup right between your legs and hit the throttle, you act just plain and simply stupidly.

    She was a passenger in the car that her grandson was driving. He had stopped the vehicle specifically so she could remove the lid for adding cream and sugar.

    Let me repeat myself. Stella Liebeck was sitting in a motionless car when she spilled coffee that was so hot that she required skin grafts.

    Stop making assertions about how stupid people are based on made-up "facts".

    --
    But then again, I could be wrong.
  4. Re:[insert deity] help you, if you come to my hous by Captain+Nitpick · · Score: 4, Informative

    As no-one has much sympathy for the woman who puts not-even-boiling-hot coffee between her thighs and (get this!) does so while she's driving.

    Stella Liebeck was not driving. She was a passenger in a vehicle stopped specifically so she could safely remove the lid.

    --
    But then again, I could be wrong.