Slashdot Mirror
Pedestrian Follows Google Map, Gets Run Over, Sues
Hugh Pickens writes "The Toronto Star reports that a Utah woman is suing Google for more than $100,000 in damages, claiming its maps function gave her walking directions that led her onto a major highway, where she was struck by a car. Lauren Rosenberg sought directions between two addresses in Utah about 3 kilometers apart and the top result suggested that she follow a busy rural highway for several hundred meters. The highway did not have sidewalks or any other pedestrian-friendly amenities, and Rosenberg was struck by a car. Rosenberg filed suit against both the driver of the car that struck her and Google, claiming both carried responsibility in her injury. Her lawyers claim Google is liable because it did not warn her that the route would not offer a safe place for a pedestrian to walk. Google has pointed out that the directions Rosenberg sought come with a warning of caution for pedestrians, but Rosenberg claims that she accessed the Maps function on her Blackberry mobile device, where it did not include the warning."
People walk on busy highways without sidewalks and think they're going to be perfectly safe? Why on earth would a thinking person even consider going by that route?
I am scientifically inaccurate.
Who's fault is it when you're walking on a highway?
No personal responsibility at all involved here? I can see how the driver is liable, but Google? Psht.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
Nobody's perfect, lady, including Google. Maybe Google should sue you for not having the sense to stay out of the road.
If he'd have done his job we wouldn't have to suffer through this kind of crap.
but sooo close. maybe next time. Please try again!
My mom taught me not to walk/play in traffic when I was four. Maybe this gal should sue her parents too?
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
Woman needs to learn how to walk down the road. I'm a college student. I'm poor. I walk down major highways all the time and voila, I don't get hit by a car. I see people do it all the time, and voila, they don't get hit by a car.
I think this woman was just stupid and wanted someone to blame for her own ignorance.
They're everywhere, and not enough of them are getting Darwin Awards even when they deserve them.
Now I'll admit it's terrible that she got hurt, but let's face it, how stupid could she be to blindly follow a map into traffic?
What if a fire had engulfed the area, would she have walked into that just because a map shows that as a viable route?
I don't know about you, but I tend to avoid getting in the way of high speed multi-ton solid objects, I understand about inertia and kinetic impacts.
Guess she should sue her parents for neglecting to teach her not to walk on roads with traffic. Or perhaps for not making sure her, as an adult, didn't do something so stupid, and then have the audacity to blame someone else for her death-wish activities.
What the fuck is the world coming to?
.
Trolling is a art,
LOL! What a greedy AND stupid bitch.
Quick someone text her instructions on how to breath water - you'll do the world a big favor.
Really... jeeze... What ever happened to common sense.
It got overridden by greed and narcissism.
'For we walk by faith, not by sight.' II Corinthians 5:7
I really hope this gets thrown out of court and she is found liable for the legal costs of both sides. Maybe then she'll learn her lesson, but probably not. She'll go on for the rest of her life spouting off how Google ruined her.
Mike Judge was mostly correct about this subject. The only part he got wrong was the date, as it is taking alot less than 500 years to get to that point.
Google once directed me to walk through a lake to get to my destination. I laughed, and found a different route.
This woman is a moron.
Facing oncoming traffic is safer because you have better visibility of the vehicles that are in close proximity. However, it is more dangerous for a bicyclist to ride against traffic because cars entering and leaving the roadway don't anticipate an approaching bicycle on that side of the road (drivers tend to only look "upstream" when turning). Unlike bicyclists, pedestrians have an effective speed of zero and are also expected to stop and wait for safe conditions at every intersection, so they can safely employ the "wrong" side of the road and get some advantages from the better visibility.