Posted on 03/26/2016 10:31:19 AM PDT by PROCON
A tornado damaged neighborhoods in Rowlett, Texas, outside of Dallas in December, but unfortunately for one family, that wasn't then end of the destruction. After a mistake in Google Maps led a construction crew to the wrong house, Lindsey Diaz's home was demolished as she was in the process of applying for a builder's permit to repair the damage caused by the tornado.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
It seems the demolition contractor should have double and triple checked the address.
Isn't their whole motto "Be evil" ?
...oh, wait. "Don't be evil."
Darn computer bug, could happen to anybody.
“It seems the demolition contractor should have double and triple checked the address. “
No worse than a SWAT team.
Yes. Not a good idea to demolish a house without triple checking.
We’ve had trouble with Google Maps, too. One time, an invited guest who followed google too confidently had to be pulled out of a ditch with truck and chain.
It’s Google’s fault?
I live in a subdivision that runs from 400 North to 400 South. Many of the earlier databases used by GPS devices did not have the North addressed homes in them. Got great calls from delivery people usually directed 15 miles away.
That's the contractors plea.
Google is not responsible for the damages. The contractor is, 100%. The mistake in the map changes nothing. They need to pay the full price of a new house, temporary lodging and expenses incurred as a consequence, such as additional travel, late bills, lost food, emotional distress. Apologies are not acceptable.
No. But Google maps are crap trust them at your own risk.
Same goes for GPS - every contractor using GPS to come to our rural location gets taken on a LONG route over numerous hilly and winding roads. Probably 6-7 miles out of the way.
We are 3 miles from a St. Hwy.
That is pretty funny, and it just goes to show how STUPID America truly has become. My Thomas Guide (MAP, for those that went to Public Schools) has NEVR led me to the wrong place, and the Batteries last FORVEVER, requires No Outside Signal to work. It really is completely self contained and ALWAYS WORKS.
Yes. How about knocking on doors in the neighborhood before starting to demolish?
I heard that Thomas Guide used to purposely add little mistakes to their maps, such as showing side streets not connecting when they do. They could then sue for copyright infringement if anyone reproduced these mistakes in their maps.
Was it a driver-less bulldozer?
Every map maker adds stuff for copywright purposes. Nothing like this to cause a contractor to demolish the wrong house.
Oh, come on. Doesn’t the contractor have the primary (and only) responsibility for making sure their destruction is at the right address?
Yes, of course. Google maps can be useful, but it is sometimes wrong, and therefore stupid to RELY on it.
My son once lived in Connecticut, where they started the street numbers at the wrong end. Another relative had a similar problem in New Hampshire.
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