Your GPS can lead you to water, but it can't make you drive into
it. Or can it?
Some drivers have followed their navigation devices
into lakes
, against traffic onto
one-way streets
, and even onto
railroad tracks
.
Clearly such systems aren't foolproof, and as they have become
ubiquitous on smartphones and in cars, more drivers blame the
technology for their accidents. One survey estimated that the
systems cause up to
300,000 accidents a year
in England.
The legal world is still sorting out the questions of who
ultimately pays for the consequences of bad directions. In the
meantime, don't bother arguing that you're not at fault for a
fender-bender simply because the GPS steered you wrong.
Your insurer isn't likely to be interested in any
finger-pointing.
But it said to turn left …
"Your insurance company wants you to take reasonable care and
use common sense," says CarInsurance.com consumer analyst Penny
Gusner. "If you see there's a tree there and you turn into it,
that's not common sense."
That doesn't mean your insurer won't pay. If you have the
necessary coverage -- collision to repair your own car and
liability to fix those of anyone you hit -- your insurance policy
should pay no matter how you wound up in the wrong place at the
wrong time, Gusner says.
But the record will show you as the at-fault driver, and your
rates are likely to rise as a result.
"You are responsible for what you do behind the wheel of your
car, and I don't see how you can transfer that duty from you to the
GPS manufacturer," agrees Lynette Hoag, a Chicago insurance claims
lawyer. "It's your duty to follow the rules, keep your eyes on the
road and use reasonable judgment."
What do you want for free?
Back in 2010, Los Angeles native Lauren Rosenberg wanted to go
for a stroll in Park City, Utah. She consulted the Google Maps
application on her smartphone, which suggested she walk along Utah
State Route 224.
Unfortunately, that particular road is a busy highway with no
sidewalks, and she was struck by a passing car.
Rosenberg sued Google for providing dangerous walking
directions, but in May 2011 a Utah district court dismissed the
lawsuit. In the ruling, the judge concluded that the usual "duty"
owed to a customer by a service provider did not exist in this
case, as Google provides its walking directions as an unpaid
service to the general public.
In theory, such a duty would indeed exist if you were a customer
paying for navigation services -- which is exactly the case when it
comes to GPS navigation systems.
'I agree' carries a lot of weight
Wrong-turn cases have made headlines when drivers have followed
directions into bad weather or decrepit roads. Rangers at Death
Valley National Park were so alarmed by a rise in what they call
"death by GPS" that they contacted manufacturers to correct
outdated maps that led travelers astray.
In situations where a death is caused by bad directions rather
than inattentive driving, "it certainly seems like you'd have a
much stronger case," says Hoag.
But Venkat Balasubramani, a lawyer specializing in technology
issues, says that one immediate barrier to any product liability
lawsuit is the fact that most navigation systems display a
disclaimer when they're first activated.
For instance, a Garmin system warns users that "Failure to pay
attention to the operation of your vehicle could result in death. …
You assume total responsibility and risk for using this device."
The user must click the "agree" button to move past the screen and
get directions.
That's a contract, says Balasubramani, adding that an "agree"
button gives the disclaimer more legal force than some fine print
buried in the back of an instruction manual.
Of course, fine print has its limits, and Balasubramani notes
that companies can't disclaim their responsibility to provide a
safe product. A car manufacturer can't put fine print on the
steering wheel insisting that it's not responsible for the
performance of the airbag, for instance. But he says that a faulty
navigation system probably wouldn't be viewed as a product safety
issue.
"The product in question is pure information, so it would be
viewed somewhat differently than, say, a lawnmower," he says.
"Regardless of where you get your directions, you as a driver have
some basic responsibility to avoid hazards on the road and keep
your eyes open."