Maps - digital or analog - are by definition only approximations of reality. When the two disagree in any way, reality wins every time.
North Shore Search and Rescue says it was starting to grow dark by the time they got a call for help near Mount Fromme. The hiker had no light source with him …
When you are going off into the forest where nobody in the world knows exactly where you are, and you have to depend on your own wits to get back to civilization, you’d better damned well have a light, as well as a lighter.
Should mapping services correct these kinds of errors? Absolutely. Is it their fault when some dingus with no gear whatsoever goes walking into the forest where no path is? No.
Is it their fault when some dingus […] goes walking into the forest where no path is? No.
Picking a single aspect to assign total blame is kinda pointless, and so is trying to address that through Yes/No. Every incident is the compounded result of multiple contributing factors. One of these contributing factors is that Google Maps displayed inaccurate information, even though common sense should have worked as error correction. The fault is in our stars.
If you ask me for directions to my house, and as part of the directions I give you, I tell you to drive your car down a staircase, and you do,you are entirely responsible for your automobile accident.
Uh, sure? Walking off trail in the woods isn’t as surrealistic as taking a car down a staircase so the analogy doesn’t seem useful to me. Even if the instructions of driving down some stairs were truthful it would still be blatantly illegal/unsafe.
A less silly example: it’s possible to sue the government if one gets into a crash due to bad signage. Even if the driver is the one who technically broke the law, the city may be liable for confusing signage that contributes to accidents.
[I]t’s possible to sue the government if one gets into a crash due to bad signage.
That’s because the government operates the roads.
If you ask me for directions to my house, and as part of the directions I give you, I tell you to walk down a path in the forest where no path actually exists, through pretty serious terrain, and you have no gear to speak of, and you go anyway, you are entirely responsible for having to be rescued and airlifted out by helicopter.
This guy, and anyone like him, is not obliged to follow a map application.
I used the car down a staircase story because it happens all the time.
Ah sorry, when you said “I tell you to drive your car down a staircase” I thought you meant you gave literal “take the stairs with your car” as instructions, instead of giving an abstract map/drawing that the person would follow. Then yeah, in this case the analogy makes more sense. My mistake.
I tell you to walk down a path in the forest where no path actually exists […] you are entirely responsible for having to be rescued and airlifted out by helicopter
I have a dedicated hiking bag with two flashlights, a headlamp, and two backup batteries. All use the same 18650s.
I also have an airtight container with zippo fluid, and a ferro rod/striker on the side, a solar charging arc lighter, a regular Bic lighter, and a magnifying glass. I want to put a large ferro rod and a small tin of waterproof matches in there as well.
I also have three mylar blankets, a camp knife, length of paracord and twine, and a first aid kit with splint and tourniquet added.
It sounds bulky, but it all fits in it’s own pouch that hangs off the main bag, and weighs about 2lbs without the knife. Idk if that’s considered bulky or not, but I’ve never had issue with it. Most of my hiking weight comes from water.
That anyone goes out without at least a snack, water, flashlight, and something to catch others attention like a whistle, blows my mind.
I came across 5 people in flip-flops/sandals and gym attire carrying nothing but phones and one or two Nalgene bottles several miles into hilly, winding trails that takes about 3 hours to get to the main landmark, and handed out a couple bottles for their return. Chill dudes, just didn’t plan well. Hopefully they tried again with better planning.
Maps - digital or analog - are by definition only approximations of reality. When the two disagree in any way, reality wins every time.
When you are going off into the forest where nobody in the world knows exactly where you are, and you have to depend on your own wits to get back to civilization, you’d better damned well have a light, as well as a lighter.
Should mapping services correct these kinds of errors? Absolutely. Is it their fault when some dingus with no gear whatsoever goes walking into the forest where no path is? No.
deleted by creator
Picking a single aspect to assign total blame is kinda pointless, and so is trying to address that through Yes/No. Every incident is the compounded result of multiple contributing factors. One of these contributing factors is that Google Maps displayed inaccurate information, even though common sense should have worked as error correction. The fault is in our stars.
If you ask me for directions to my house, and as part of the directions I give you, I tell you to drive your car down a staircase, and you do, you are entirely responsible for your automobile accident.
Uh, sure? Walking off trail in the woods isn’t as surrealistic as taking a car down a staircase so the analogy doesn’t seem useful to me. Even if the instructions of driving down some stairs were truthful it would still be blatantly illegal/unsafe.
A less silly example: it’s possible to sue the government if one gets into a crash due to bad signage. Even if the driver is the one who technically broke the law, the city may be liable for confusing signage that contributes to accidents.
I used the car down a staircase story because it happens all the time.
That’s because the government operates the roads.
If you ask me for directions to my house, and as part of the directions I give you, I tell you to walk down a path in the forest where no path actually exists, through pretty serious terrain, and you have no gear to speak of, and you go anyway, you are entirely responsible for having to be rescued and airlifted out by helicopter.
This guy, and anyone like him, is not obliged to follow a map application.
Ah sorry, when you said “I tell you to drive your car down a staircase” I thought you meant you gave literal “take the stairs with your car” as instructions, instead of giving an abstract map/drawing that the person would follow. Then yeah, in this case the analogy makes more sense. My mistake.
lol k
No, that’s exactly what I meant. You apparently didn’t click the link.
https://www.kron4.com/news/driver-claims-she-was-following-her-gps-down-staircase-police-say/
That’s a recent incident, there have been others. Other kinds of “people following their GPS” incidents are here:
https://theweek.com/articles/464674/8-drivers-who-blindly-followed-gps-into-disaster
I have a dedicated hiking bag with two flashlights, a headlamp, and two backup batteries. All use the same 18650s.
I also have an airtight container with zippo fluid, and a ferro rod/striker on the side, a solar charging arc lighter, a regular Bic lighter, and a magnifying glass. I want to put a large ferro rod and a small tin of waterproof matches in there as well.
I also have three mylar blankets, a camp knife, length of paracord and twine, and a first aid kit with splint and tourniquet added.
It sounds bulky, but it all fits in it’s own pouch that hangs off the main bag, and weighs about 2lbs without the knife. Idk if that’s considered bulky or not, but I’ve never had issue with it. Most of my hiking weight comes from water.
That anyone goes out without at least a snack, water, flashlight, and something to catch others attention like a whistle, blows my mind.
I came across 5 people in flip-flops/sandals and gym attire carrying nothing but phones and one or two Nalgene bottles several miles into hilly, winding trails that takes about 3 hours to get to the main landmark, and handed out a couple bottles for their return. Chill dudes, just didn’t plan well. Hopefully they tried again with better planning.