Lawyer Explains Reasoning For Suing Google Over Walking Directions: It Was Dark
from the um.-ok. dept
Yesterday, we covered the bizarre lawsuit of a woman suing Google because she got hit by a car while trying to follow Google Maps' walking directions. Danny Sullivan, who broke the story, now has a follow up following a discussion with the woman's lawyer. Apparently, they feel the lawsuit is justified because it was early in the morning and it was dark out, so the woman couldn't properly see that the opposite side of the road had no sidewalk:"It was 6 in the morning. It was not a busy street [then]. She believed there was a sidewalk on the other side." ....Even if it wasn't a busy street, there's clearly no cross walk. And you'd have to think that even in the darkness, someone could recognize that. Again, Sullivan has the image:
"She was in an area that she'd never been to before. It was pitch black. There were no street lights. She relied on Google that she'd cross there and go down to a sidewalk."
In fact, Rosenberg never reached the other side. She left the end of Park Avenue to cross to the far side of Deer Valley Drive / State Route 224 and was struck while crossing.The other bit of info that Sullivan cleared up is the fact that Google Maps walking directions on mobile phones do, in fact, carry a warning, which says: Walking directions (beta): use caution. The woman insists that no such warning was on the phone, but Google says it's been there since it launched walking directions.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: directions, google maps, lawsuits, walking
Companies: google
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
So she's not supposed to use caution if a product isn't in beta?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
However you are right, people should ALWAYS use caution when walking along roadways. I use lots of caution when I'm walking on sidewalks and marked crosswalks because other people are idiots and drive like they want someone to die
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Nickel!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
They are truly the great ones that keep lawyers' livelihood going!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Still, common sense has it that if there's no light, you don't go walking on the street. that's just retarded.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: by Kurata
My street has no lights, sidewalks, or crosswalks. The surrounding streets do not as well. Does that mean I cannot walk anywhere after dark?
Common sense tells you(or should tell you) to be careful and look both ways before you cross.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
She was walking, not driving!
Ok I think I got it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It was 6 in the morning. It was not a busy street [then]
Crosswalks? I live in a semi rural area and not only do most of the streets not have sidewalks, there are no crosswalks painted on the streets.
Does that mean I cannot walk anywhere?
Stupidity should not be rewarded.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
http://techdirt.com/articles/20100601/1505529650.shtml
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Small suggestion
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
wtf?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: wtf?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This doesn't help her case against the driver.
Sounds like the lawyer just undermined their case against the driver who hit her.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
whoa
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: whoa
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Worthless
Lawsuits like this give lawyers a bad name.
Yasha Heidari
Attorney-at-Law
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Time and darkness.
Dark
Headlights from cars?
Common SAFETY RULES?
I can see here NOW..
HEAD down reading her cellphone/laptop..NOT paying attention to the road or environment..
Who heard about the GIRL going to school, Sending messages on her phone, WALKED OUT infront of a BUS...DEAD.
Is this case ANY different.
If you want to be treated as an ANIMAL, we can place her on a LEASH, and put her in a Dog house..
I know DOGS that have more intelligence then this person.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Time and darkness.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Class Action
It was HIS RESPONSIBILITY after hitting her to throw the car in reverse and finish the job.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Too dumb to be walking around
Another question I'd ask her lawyer; was she wearing her helmet? You know; the one they make "special" people wear at all times. If not, then it's clearly all her fault.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pictures are worth a thousand words?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Pictures are worth a thousand words?
You mean other than the lack of a crosswalk and the absence of sidewalks on either side?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Pictures are worth a thousand words?
You live in a big city; Dont you?
Nastybutler77, there are plenty of areas that dont have painted crosswalks or lights in my area, and the surrounding area, but it is obvious that ppl need to use those roadways to get around on foot.
The road is 35 MPH. 4 lanes & a center turning lane. The nearest "big" street around me is a 2 lane with a foot and a half of shoulder and is 45 MPH.
The township set the speed limit at 35, because if you actually go and look at the area, it is obvious it is used by pedestrians.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Pictures are worth a thousand words?
Regardless of whether there was a crosswalk, or sidewalk, or not, it doesn't change the fact that she crossed the road in front of a moving vehicle and got hit because she wasn't paying attention. It has nothing to do with directions she was given.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Pictures are worth a thousand words?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Pictures are worth a thousand words?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I had to look it up
A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate threat.
I believe that if a car hits you, it was probably an immediate threat.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
duh!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Headlights?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wait.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The lawsuit is wrong but.....
The whole jest of the lawyers argument is, since there was no crosswalk on the other side, Google should not have given the instruction to cross at all. I can see the logic there, even if Google is not liable.
You wouldn't buy a GPS for the car that instructed you to drive in the middle of a 'pedestrians only' walk area just because it was a shortest route.
If Google can't map the sidewalks more accurately, their product is worthless. The accuracy standard for this application should be high, since the consequences are more dire. At least when the GPS is wrong, you have the protection of a vehicle around you.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The lawsuit is wrong but.....
Hence the "Walking directions (beta): use caution." They are warning you that not all the kinks are worked out of it yet, so use at your own risk. And maybe not at all if you're a grade A moron.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: The lawsuit is wrong but.....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: The lawsuit is wrong but.....
A normal person would have realized that maybe it wasn't a good idea to cross a highway away from a crosswalk and asked the program for a different route. This moron chose not to do that, and for that lack of awareness she got what she deserved.
I'm guessing you're of similar mental capacity as Ms. Rosenberg and follow all directions issued by your gadgets, since you're so adamant about this being Google's fault.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: The lawsuit is wrong but.....
I'm going to guess that you are a glass-half-empty type guy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The lawsuit is wrong but.....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The lawsuit is wrong but.....
Actually, they all do that if the information stored hasn't been updated since the pedestrianised area was constructed. That's no excuse for not using your own eyes and common sense to think "hmmm... there's a pedestrian area ahead and signs telling me not to drive down it, maybe my GPS is wrong".
"If Google can't map the sidewalks more accurately, their product is worthless."
Bullshit. It's a *guide*, not gospel. I have a Lonely Planet guide to Andalucia that lists clubs in my former town that don't exist any more, or have different names. The guide is not "worthless", it's outdated. That's why it's a *guide* - things change and you have to use your judgement as to its contents. Same with Google - the walking directions are a guide to help save time working out a route. If she'd have gone to a gas station and bought a map, she may have worked out the same route, but just wouldn't have had doomed hopes of getting cash from a rich company when she made the same idiotic mistake.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mecha Streisand Effect
If she had just accepted the fact that it was more her fault than anyone else's she could have gone the rest of her life with only the people she interacted with on a personal level knowing she was an idiot. Now the whole world is aware of that fact. I guess that's karma in action.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What intensely stupid cow this creature must be
Would you entrust this woman with anything of value, such as your credit card, your health records, or even flipping your burgers. Of course not! Such an idiot should be put in permanent confinement until they can demonstrate that they have reduced their idiocy to acceptable levels, and it this country, that doesn't take a lot. I sincerely doubt she would ever see the light of day again.
Every time I read of a case like this, I feel that the movie Idiocracy is actually a documentary of the current state of the world. It used to be funny, but now it is just so sad. So sad. And altogether too true.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
We should sue her
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
/sarcasm
I, too, thinks she's a grade A mornon. Sheesh!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Why is the driver not suing the pedestrian?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Why is the driver not suing the pedestrian?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I guess it was too dark to see the headlights coming.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ugh what?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
:)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]