Not sure how long it will last, but go to Google Maps and get directions from San Francisco, CA to Tokyo, Japan. It tells you to kayak across the Pacific Ocean! Guess that there is still some humor left at Google!

Looked the road up on street view. There are nice wide shoulders on both sides of the road. This woman is just an asshat who got what she deserved. I hope she got injured in the accident in a way that causes lingering pain for the rest of her life.

You ever wished the human race didn't exsit, then realize you're one too?

/I have

I wouldn't worry too much. It's just a matter of time before Darwin gets this brain trust. If she's done this once, she'll do something equally as stupid in the future. Darwin is waiting for the right moment, and it'll be even more comical.

I hope she dies in a fire. Hopefully with the yakkity sax music playing in the background.

just complete and total moranage. nothing else can be said.

Not going to look up Utah state law, but I'm pretty sure that on roads with no sidewalks you are required to walk along the curb against traffic. And I'm pretty sure that the Google walking instructions did not tell her to walk in the middle of the road...

/case dismissed

So is this the new excuse to not take responsibility for your own actions ..."The Google made me do it."

So I bet she wins and google has to put a disclaimer on their apps

At the end of route 72 there will be a fork in the road, to the left is a bridge to the right is a 2 mile incline. Walk halfway across the bridge stop and leap off the bridge.

Dr.Knockboots: she must've not had her glasses, goddammit.

"Hello? Barbara?"

/shiat, totally nostalgia'd

thebigfingerbang
think about what happens when most kids are taught to drive with GPS units in the car, then something happens and it breaks.

Yeah. I know a few people who use their GPS all the time, and it's very much like a person who uses a calculator for basic arithmetic. They quickly forget how to do the most basic and common sense tasks.

Calculator example: Went to a gas station years ago, asked for 10 gallons. Apparently they need to put in the number as a dollar value or something, so the cashier gets out a calculator to figure out what $2.55 x 10 was. I was stunned. Math doesn't get any easier than that.

GPS Example: A friend and I were driving along, trying to get to a location that was on the same street. The GPS had us going straight through what was apparently a fairly new building. Her solution? Start messing with the gps to find an alternate route. My solution? Drive around the hospital and get right back on the same street. We were maybe 100ft from the destination by the time the GPS rerouted, but my friend turned the car around and started following the GPS route (that took us around two more blocks and back to where we were). Navigation doesn't get any easier than that.

Unrelated, but I'm terrible with step-by-step directions. People will give steps like "Make a right on the 8th light" or "make a right at the 7-11", which is significantly less helpful than "Make a right on 5th St." I can't even remember directions unless I pull out a map and put them in context. At this point, when someone starts giving me directions I interrupt them and simply ask for the address. Though I do get kind of obsessive with more complicated trips, pulling up google satellite views to look for landmarks near turnoffs and follow/memorize the route I want to take.

How long will it be before we discover that she was texting on her Blackberry instead of paying attention to traffic?

This is EXACTLY why we have the "R" option on our car transmissions.

If you clip and wound a dumfark like this throw it in "R", then back into "F"

Repeat as necessary: R then F, R then F, R then F, then go to an In And Out for burgers. Maybe a carwash prior to the burgers but you get the gist.

Subpar Mario: Looked the road up on street view. There are nice wide shoulders on both sides of the road. This woman is just an asshat who got what she deserved. I hope she got injured in the accident in a way that causes lingering pain for the rest of her life.

Not only that, there's a paved walking/biking path on the west side complete with underpasses that parallels the road.

Foiled again.

Strangely enough, this is on Google Street View. Take a look at the section of Deer Creek Drive in Park Valley, UT that she was walking down. (Origin and destination were given in the article.)

Link (new window)
Link (new window)

How on earth do you decide it is necessary to walk down the middle of that road?

OK, after looking at the walking directions, I can see the point -- the margin kind of disappears at certain points. Still a ridiculous basis for a lawsuit.

From the msn link by fly_gal:

...causing her to suffer severe permanent physical, emotional, and mental injuries, including pain and suffering."

Sorry lady, but you can't sue over a pre-existing condition.

Link (new window) (so you don't have to go searching for it if you missed it earlier)

FTFAQuoting the complaint: "At all times herein mentioned, Plaintiff Lauren Rosenberg was and is a competent adult."

I disagree.

mikaloyd: What kind of 3rd rate attorney did she hire?

He forgot to sue blackberry for allowing googles dangerous directions to be available to her. There are more deep pockets to pick.

Don't forget her cellular provider.
And the government that built and maintains the road.
And everyone who passed her that day and didn't stop to warn her not to walk down the highway.

falkone32:
GPS Example: A friend and I were driving along, trying to get to a location that was on the same street. The GPS had us going straight through what was apparently a fairly new building. Her solution? Start messing with the gps to find an alternate route. My solution? Drive around the hospital and get right back on the same street. We were maybe 100ft from the destination by the time the GPS rerouted, but my friend turned the car around and started following the GPS route (that took us around two more blocks and back to where we were). Navigation doesn't get any easier than that.

I see this all the time. Someone calls for directions, and I ask them which direction they're coming from. It usually takes a five-minute discussion to get one of the four cardinal directions from them, and then the directions I give are four steps or less (K.I.S.S.).

This is how simple I keep my directions: "Take I-X East to exit 1A. Get on I-Y East to exit 2B. Turn right. First building on the right, up on a hill."

Half of them call back later and say they're lost. I ask "well, where are you now?" A few say "I'm on step 5" Most say "MapQuest/Google/GPS sent me to a BP station (or some other location)." Step 5 of what? Which BP station? I need a location, people! Aside from all that, you got simple 4-step directions from a local, so why are you using a freaking GPS?

Of course, half the time they're actually at the Shell station 2 buildings down the street from me, but I can't assume that. They could be at any gas station in town, especially when you consider that most of those who think they're at a BP station are actually at a Shell station.

By this time, they've given up on getting directions, and they're just asking for my address so they can plug it into their GPS. Well, plugging my address into their GPS was what caused their problem in the first place, so I fail to see how re-entering the same address will help.

Another problem with the address... Most GPS units, when given my address, send you 300 yards south of my actual location, on the opposite side of the interstate. I try to tell the customers this, but they don't want to hear it, so I give them my address and send them on their merry way.

Twenty minutes later, most of them have realized that they've driven past my business two or three times already. Those folks have arrived looking rather sheepish about getting lost, been greeted warmly by me, and have already concluded their business and gone on their way with a good restaurant recommendation from me.

The remaining few call me back, extremely frustrated since they can't find me. They insist that I gave them an incorrect address, because their GPS is sending them to a complex of doctor's offices. I explain again that GPS systems are unreliable in this area (I guess because of elevation changes in the mountains, I don't really know why). I ask again where they are now.

Most say "I'm at a BP station on X road." Of course, there's not a BP station on that road, so I ask "does the symbol on the sign look like a star or a seashell?" When they say "seashell" I reply "OK, I know where you are now." (I don't even bother to correct them on the station brand.)

So they ask, "Well how do I get to you?"
My reply: "Stand on the sidewalk and face the road." (wait for them to comply) "Turn 90 degrees to your left." (again, wait for compliance) "Tilt your head about 15 degrees up."
Customer: "Oh, THERE you are."

/hm, kinda went longer than I expected on this post. Oh well.

For the record, here's the actual link to the original story, failmitter.

Subpar Mario: Looked the road up on street view. There are nice wide shoulders on both sides of the road. This woman is just an asshat who got what she deserved. I hope she got injured in the accident in a way that causes lingering pain for the rest of her life.

There are wide shoulders, but she was walking in January when they are filled with snow and slush. She still got what she deserved, though.

/former Park City resident
//free public transport all year--why was she walking?

If this coont loses this lawsuit (and she will) she needs beat to death with a rubber hose just for being too stupid to breath our air.

there is something everyone should know about Utah, the drivers there WILL hit you. they will not slow down or swerve. all traffic lights and signs are merely suggestions.

Jgok: falkone32:
GPS Example: A friend and I were driving along, trying to get to a location that was on the same street. The GPS had us going straight through what was apparently a fairly new building. Her solution? Start messing with the gps to find an alternate route. My solution? Drive around the hospital and get right back on the same street. We were maybe 100ft from the destination by the time the GPS rerouted, but my friend turned the car around and started following the GPS route (that took us around two more blocks and back to where we were). Navigation doesn't get any easier than that.

I see this all the time. Someone calls for directions, and I ask them which direction they're coming from. It usually takes a five-minute discussion to get one of the four cardinal directions from them, and then the directions I give are four steps or less (K.I.S.S.).

This is how simple I keep my directions: "Take I-X East to exit 1A. Get on I-Y East to exit 2B. Turn right. First building on the right, up on a hill."

Half of them call back later and say they're lost. I ask "well, where are you now?" A few say "I'm on step 5" Most say "MapQuest/Google/GPS sent me to a BP station (or some other location)." Step 5 of what? Which BP station? I need a location, people! Aside from all that, you got simple 4-step directions from a local, so why are you using a freaking GPS?

Of course, half the time they're actually at the Shell station 2 buildings down the street from me, but I can't assume that. They could be at any gas station in town, especially when you consider that most of those who think they're at a BP station are actually at a Shell station.

By this time, they've given up on getting directions, and they're just asking for my address so they can plug it into their GPS. Well, plugging my address into their GPS was what caused their problem in the first place, so I fail to see how re-entering the same address will help.

Another problem with the address... Most GPS units, when given my address, send you 300 yards south of my actual location, on the opposite side of the interstate. I try to tell the customers this, but they don't want to hear it, so I give them my address and send them on their merry way.

Twenty minutes later, most of them have realized that they've driven past my business two or three times already. Those folks have arrived looking rather sheepish about getting lost, been greeted warmly by me, and have already concluded their business and gone on their way with a good restaurant recommendation from me.

The remaining few call me back, extremely frustrated since they can't find me. They insist that I gave them an incorrect address, because their GPS is sending them to a complex of doctor's offices. I explain again that GPS systems are unreliable in this area (I guess because of elevation changes in the mountains, I don't really know why). I ask again where they are now.

Most say "I'm at a BP station on X road." Of course, there's not a BP station on that road, so I ask "does the symbol on the sign look like a star or a seashell?" When they say "seashell" I reply "OK, I know where you are now." (I don't even bother to correct them on the station brand.)

So they ask, "Well how do I get to you?"
My reply: "Stand on the sidewalk and face the road." (wait for them to comply) "Turn 90 degrees to your left." (again, wait for compliance) "Tilt your head about 15 degrees up."
Customer: "Oh, THERE you are."

/hm, kinda went longer than I expected on this post. Oh well.

How does your business make money if people can't find you easily?

comments from the woman's attorney (new window)

It seems she was hit while crossing the road. However I don't think that excuses her for putting all the blame on Google. Common sense is not, it would seem, all that common.

lyn: Common sense is not, it would seem, all that common.

aim57: This is EXACTLY why we have the "R" option on our car transmissions.

If you clip and wound a dumfark like this throw it in "R", then back into "F"

Repeat as necessary: R then F, R then F, R then F, then go to an In And Out for burgers. Maybe a carwash prior to the burgers but you get the gist.

You're car has an "F" gear? Oh, and it's In-N-Out. Have you ever driven a car or been in the US?

What_do_you_want_now: How does your business make money if people can't find you easily?

Most people CAN find us easily. I mean, come on... We're the first building off a major interstate, on one of the two major state highways that go through our town, right in the middle of the tourist district.

It's just idiots that rely solely on their GPS that can't seem to find us.