Tech company faces negligence lawsuit after Philip Paxson died from driving off a North Carolina bridge destroyed years ago

Discuss!

  • stopthatgirl7@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    39
    arrow-down
    9
    ·
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    Did you read the article?

    neither the destroyed bridge nor the road leading to it had any barriers or warning signs to alert drivers of the hazard.

    It was also raining and at night, so he likely had no way to know the bridge was gone until it would have been too late to stop.

    • riodoro1@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      51
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      Doesn’t sound like google’s fault, does it?

      The article even mentions that other entities are sued but oh that sweet headline.

      • ExLisper@linux.communityOP
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        24
        arrow-down
        6
        ·
        10 months ago

        Yeah, suing google makes as much sense as suing the car maker for not making the car fly.

      • stopthatgirl7@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        edit-2
        10 months ago

        The bridge was broken years though, so Google should not have been using it for routes. The country is definitely at fault for not having signs up, but Google isn’t blameless in this.

    • Kalash@feddit.ch
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      31
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      So sue the county or who ever is in charge of erecting the barriers. Still not the map’s fault.

      • stopthatgirl7@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        18
        ·
        edit-2
        10 months ago

        The bridge broke down years ago. Google is absolutely also at fault for sending someone down it, along with whoever didn’t have warnings up. Multiple entities can be at fault here.

        • coffinwood@feddit.de
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          11
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          10 months ago

          There has never been a guarantee for a map to be absolutely precise and correct. Just because maps today are digital and get updated automatically - or are even something like “live” - does not mean that there can’t be any inaccuracies.

          And that’s the reason one never relies on a map alone, but uses it as a guide.

          I’ve seen road signs that were simply wrong. Always use a combination of informational input and always be aware of possible flaws.

        • Neve8028@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          ·
          10 months ago

          Given that there weren’t any signs or barriers, it sounds like the local authorities are the ones at fault here. It could even be that that didn’t file the proper paperwork to indicate that it collapsed. Google gets it’s information from some database and if their sources aren’t accurately reporting data as they should, google wouldn’t have any way of knowing that the bridge collapsed. Ultimately, hazards like this should be clearly blocked off. Google doesn’t have the power to do that.

    • Eufalconimorph@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      20
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      10 months ago

      If you can’t stop within the range of visibility, you’re driving faster than road conditions allow. That part is on the driver. The lack of barriers or warnings is on the municipality.

      • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        10 months ago

        I always like to point this out.

        In every single driver’s manual, it states having a 4 second window of visibility, minimum. On rainy days/fog/bad weather, more if possible.

        That buffer is to help avoid unknown surprises.

    • Hogger85b@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      Yes so this is the on the authority that owns the road if people have been telling Google about it surely the municipal or state or whoever maintains the road was informed and should have made effort to block it off or mark the road as private or whatever. If it is a private road you are still liable if it appears to be access to your property (say for delivery drivers to your mailbox)