The demise of common sense

Posted on | May 31, 2010 | 1 Comment

I wrote that title and then realised common sense has been absent in a large portion of society for a very long time.  But every once in awhile, I find myself shaking my head in utter disbelief at the level of monumental stupidity, and arrogance of those who want to be rewarded for their moment in the Darwinian sun.

It’s never a good idea when stupidity and greed marry, it inevitably ends up in a lawsuit. Take for instance the woman in Utah who walked onto a busy highway and was hit by a car. Who does she blame? Herself? Oh silly reader, you should know better by now. Of course she isn’t to blame. It was the driver on the highway she strolled out on and Google Maps for supplying her with the information:

As a direct and proximate cause of Defendant Google’s careless, reckless, and negligent providing of unsafe directions, Plaintiff Laren Rosenberg was led onto a dangerous highway, and was thereby stricken by a motor vehicle

Yes the main plaintiff is Google Maps because it didn’t warn her it could be dangerous stepping out onto a road – busy or otherwise. Yes, it was a newsflash to me that you need to look both ways and use judgment before crossing the road, but I’m funny that way. No where on the Google Maps page does it say the path shown is safe or traffic free. It is assumed the user should use certain amount of caution regardless of the route. Simply because the path has been supplied by Google Maps, does not mean the user does not have to exercise due care and caution. The main question that should be asked of this person is “do you normally step onto a road/highway without looking”?

An element of personal responsibility comes into this entire sorry episode. Ultimately it is the plaintiff’s responsibility to look both ways before crossing the road or choosing to walk along a busy highway. It is not Google’s responsibility to hold her hands. They made no promises the route was traffic free. They simply supplied a path from point A to point B. If she had looked at a paper map and followed the same route would she sue Rand McNally? Is she going to sue BlackBerry for displaying the route?

As a user of Google Maps, I am rather ticked off. Never in my wildest dreams would I blindly follow a set of instructions. I use the route as a reference only. I wouldn’t walk out into traffic, I wouldn’t walk off (or drive off) a bridge as happened to some, I would not drive into a corn field because the map said to. While I was researching this story, I was shocked by the number of people who wrote Google was sued for giving bad directions. No Google did not give bad directions. Google did what it was asked to do – supply a pedestrian route. It was not asked to supply a route that was car free. The user opted to suspend common sense and put the onus for her safety onto the shoulders of everyone around her.

Perhaps Google Maps should be suing her for bad publicity and egregious use of their mapping tool.

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Category: Catpaw's Mad, Rants, Really stupid ideas, Utter Stupidity
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Comments

One Response to “The demise of common sense”

  1. Anadrol
    June 7th, 2010 @ 8:58 am

    I wonder how stupid must be one or how blindly must somebody believe a computer… For god sake – don’t we have the eyes?! Great post!