Chloe Oliver of Foxworth writes a community column for the Marion County Informer. Her column appears each Wednesday.

By Chloe Oliver

 Recently, I was searching for a business location in Gulfport. My GPS told me to turn left. The only thing that I saw to my left was a grove of trees. I chalked it up to a glitch and turned left at the next intersection. Had I been the woman who is suing Google, I might have turned left at that instant, hit the trees, received bodily injury, then filed a lawsuit. It seems that I missed a golden opportunity.
   In order to walk from one location to another, a woman received directions from Google on her Blackberry. According to her legal complaint,(which can be viewed at: http:/www.scribd.com/doc/32136379/Rosenberg-v-Hardwood-Google) she was led to a dangerous highway and “thereby stricken by a motor vehicle causing her to suffer permanent physical, emotional, and mental injuries, including pain and suffering.”The woman is suing Google in the amount of $100,000 plus medical expenses and punitive damages. She is also suing the driver of the car that struck her.
   It seems that on her one half mile walk in pitch-black night, she walked down the center of a snow-covered four-lane highway. According to her complaint, she believes Google led her to a highway that is not safe for pedestrians because of cars traveling at high rates of speed. The lawsuit asserts that Google should have known the roadway was not designed for pedestrians.Yet,it appears that she also believes that the driver of the car that struck her was traveling too fast.
   If Google maps are viewed on the computer, it states that directions are in beta and to use caution because some routes may lack sidewalks or pedestrian paths. I guess they figure if you are smart enough to use the service, then it would be assumed you are smart enough not to walk down the middle of the highway in the dead of night. Most people already know that this is not a perfect technology. What happened to using your own common sense and instincts? I don’t understand how some routing algorithm can know this is a dangerous road  when the woman herself can’t make that judgment while standing in the middle of the highway. The device she is using is only as smart as the user. As a competent adult (as stated in her complaint) intelligence dictates that I not walk down the center of a four-lane, snow-covered, four-lane highway in pitch-black night.
   What would have happened if she had asked directions of a gas station employee or some other stranger? Would she sue them? Henceforth, when I give directions, I will issue the following: Caveat walker or driver.
   I can hardly wait until this woman travels overseas. Literally. I imagine her now in a kayak, rowboat, or swimming from Miami to Havanna. She might not view this as a foolish undertaking.
   In today’s society, I would be hesitant to wager on the success of this lawsuit. I do believe that at the very least, she deserves some sort of award or honorable mention. Here are my suggestions for recipient, Runs With Cars: Alive By the Grace of God (safety award from the department of transportation), Madoff Rich Award (given by imaginary school of business owners, DoWe, Cheatum, and Howe), Baryshnikov Award for Dancing All the Way to the Bank, Cranium Magnum Extraordinaire (from Mensa),  and Most Likely to Perish, But Now I’m So Much More Than a Hood Ornament (given by the Darwin Society.)