Navigation apps such as Google Maps have made so many of our lives easier. However, a recent fatal incident in India has left many questioning how reliable navigation apps are. Can they actually be held responsible for things like car accidents?
This is a leading query asked by many in India though digital platforms after three people died as their vehicle veered off into an unfinished bridge. The car fell into the river in Utter Pradesh leaving both the local and international community stunned.
Now the query is who is accountable for the act? The local authorities? The driver? Or can we blame Google Maps for what went on?
At the moment, investigations continue to take place but many do feel Google Maps has some part to play as it led them to that path. One part of that bridge even collapsed during the year’s start due to floods in the region and locals were very well aware of this, avoiding the route at all costs.
But it just so happens that the three victims involved were not from the region so had no clue of what they were getting into. What is even more shocking is how no barriers were added, and neither were there any warning signs about unfinished construction.
For now, the law enforcement agencies have named four people from the region’s road department and another unnamed individual from Google Maps who they feel come under homicide charges.
The tragedy has highlighted the country’s poor infrastructure and led to a massive debate about tools like Google Maps who should take some accountability on the matter. The world blames Google for not giving the right data but a major chunk still feels the local government body needed to cordon off that particular site.
Today, Google Maps is one of the most popular tools for navigation in the country and is synonymous with GPS which happens to be a leading satellite-based system for navigating routes.
This also powers the long list of services including sharing rides, food deliveries, and e-commerce. This app has close to 60 million active users. If that’s not shocking enough then there are close to 50M searches arising daily.
This is not the first time that we’ve seen the platform come under scrutiny for the likes of adding the wrong direction and leading to fatal incidents like this one.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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This is a leading query asked by many in India though digital platforms after three people died as their vehicle veered off into an unfinished bridge. The car fell into the river in Utter Pradesh leaving both the local and international community stunned.
Now the query is who is accountable for the act? The local authorities? The driver? Or can we blame Google Maps for what went on?
At the moment, investigations continue to take place but many do feel Google Maps has some part to play as it led them to that path. One part of that bridge even collapsed during the year’s start due to floods in the region and locals were very well aware of this, avoiding the route at all costs.
But it just so happens that the three victims involved were not from the region so had no clue of what they were getting into. What is even more shocking is how no barriers were added, and neither were there any warning signs about unfinished construction.
For now, the law enforcement agencies have named four people from the region’s road department and another unnamed individual from Google Maps who they feel come under homicide charges.
The tragedy has highlighted the country’s poor infrastructure and led to a massive debate about tools like Google Maps who should take some accountability on the matter. The world blames Google for not giving the right data but a major chunk still feels the local government body needed to cordon off that particular site.
Today, Google Maps is one of the most popular tools for navigation in the country and is synonymous with GPS which happens to be a leading satellite-based system for navigating routes.
This also powers the long list of services including sharing rides, food deliveries, and e-commerce. This app has close to 60 million active users. If that’s not shocking enough then there are close to 50M searches arising daily.
This is not the first time that we’ve seen the platform come under scrutiny for the likes of adding the wrong direction and leading to fatal incidents like this one.
Read next: Thanksgiving Weekend Sees Online Sales Rise 7% Globally and 4% in the US Compared to 2023
