Spatial Law and Policy Update (from the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy)
Privacy
Tracking devices used in school badges
Facebook and Zynga face privacy lawsuit
Google ditches Street View wi-fi scanning
Law Enforcement/National Security
Pakistan Moves to Bar Unregistered Mapping Companies
Student reports GPS device on car
Bolster Law on Wiretapping
Fourth Amendment Implications in Using Remote Sensing in Criminal Law
DHS using social media to check on marriage fraud
Data Quality/Liability
A critique of OpenStreetMap
Who is liable for a driverless car accident?
Reported GPS failure in China results in loss of child
Intellectual Property Rights
Trap doors in cartography
Washington State court finds metadata subject to Public Records Law
Central Platte NRD appeals dismissal of GIS lawsuit
Community Remote Sensing
Egypt imposes SMS restrictions ahead of elections
OpenStreetMap poses challenge to TomTom and Nokia
Fighting Crime From Home
Smart Grid
CDT Details Smart Grid Privacy Recommendations
Spatial Data Infrastructures
Geospatial Act Proposed for Malaysia
Miscellaneous
Japan to ask Google to change name of disputed islands
name of disputed islands
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Spatial Law and Policy Update (October 11, 2010)
Spatial Law and Policy Update (from the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy)
Privacy
City should track all taxis by GPS, inspector general says.
Intel, Microsoft, eBay support Rush' privacy bill while noting concerns
California law will guard privacy of tollway users
Washington Supreme Court finds metadata is subject to Public Records Law
Intellectual Property
Facebook receives patent on location
National Security
PG&E provides pipeline maps to fire departments
Creation of Intelligent System for Maritime Security
North Korea appears capable of jamming GPS receivers
Data Quality/Liability
GPS not helpful to monitor driver fatigue company claims
Industry standard for cell phone navigation proposed
Speed Camera Accuracy Concerns Grow
LaHood considers outright ban of cell phone use in cars
Intelligent Transportation System
Google switches gears with self-driving cars
Smart Grid
IBM and the City of Dubuque Join Forces to Build a Smarter Water Grid
Data Access and Privacy Issues Related to Smart Grid Technologies
Privacy
City should track all taxis by GPS, inspector general says.
Intel, Microsoft, eBay support Rush' privacy bill while noting concerns
California law will guard privacy of tollway users
Washington Supreme Court finds metadata is subject to Public Records Law
Intellectual Property
Facebook receives patent on location
National Security
PG&E provides pipeline maps to fire departments
Creation of Intelligent System for Maritime Security
North Korea appears capable of jamming GPS receivers
Data Quality/Liability
GPS not helpful to monitor driver fatigue company claims
Industry standard for cell phone navigation proposed
Speed Camera Accuracy Concerns Grow
LaHood considers outright ban of cell phone use in cars
Intelligent Transportation System
Google switches gears with self-driving cars
Smart Grid
IBM and the City of Dubuque Join Forces to Build a Smarter Water Grid
Data Access and Privacy Issues Related to Smart Grid Technologies
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
When Will We Stop Blaming the Driver?
I have been associated with the geospatial technology since 1985. I believe in the technology and its vast potential. However, I have become increasingly disappointed with what appears to be growing trend - within the blogosphere at least - to instinctively blame a driver whenever he or she gets lost or injured using a satnav device. I first noticed this trend when a couple got stuck on a logging road in Oregon in wintertime. A number of blog posts suggested that the couple should have known that their GPS device was imperfect and brought a map along as back-up. I said at the time that expecting a consumer to bring a map because their GPS device might fail is like expecting me to throw my bike in the trunk of my car when I go for a drive because the car might break down. Consumers expect that products they purchase will work. (So do jurors!) Particularly when commercials repeatedly tell them they should buy the device because it will get them to where they want to go quicker, safer and cheaper.
The issue arose again this week as a man drowned in Spain reportedly because his satnav device mistakenly took him down a road at night that led into a lake and he was not able to stop quick enough. I have seen more than a few comments suggesting that the driver lacked "common sense". However, there is nothing in the reports that I read that suggested the driver lacked common sense in this instance. Moreover, who of us hasn't taken the wrong turn and driven for a while trying to figure out whether they made a mistake (or how to fix it)? In addition, I know that the reaction time of my parents, who are both in the early 70's, is slower than it used to be - particularly when a lake suddenly appears in the middle of the road!! My guess is that they are not alone.
I don't think it is fair to instinctively blame the driver in an accident due at least in part to an error or malfunction in a satnav device. More importantly, I also believe it is bad business. If a customer is injured due to an error in a satnav device, a better response - from both a legal and business standpoint - would be to try and understand what went wrong and identify ways to make the product better and safer. History has shown that the companies that take this approach are better off in the long run.
The issue arose again this week as a man drowned in Spain reportedly because his satnav device mistakenly took him down a road at night that led into a lake and he was not able to stop quick enough. I have seen more than a few comments suggesting that the driver lacked "common sense". However, there is nothing in the reports that I read that suggested the driver lacked common sense in this instance. Moreover, who of us hasn't taken the wrong turn and driven for a while trying to figure out whether they made a mistake (or how to fix it)? In addition, I know that the reaction time of my parents, who are both in the early 70's, is slower than it used to be - particularly when a lake suddenly appears in the middle of the road!! My guess is that they are not alone.
I don't think it is fair to instinctively blame the driver in an accident due at least in part to an error or malfunction in a satnav device. More importantly, I also believe it is bad business. If a customer is injured due to an error in a satnav device, a better response - from both a legal and business standpoint - would be to try and understand what went wrong and identify ways to make the product better and safer. History has shown that the companies that take this approach are better off in the long run.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)