Apple Maps flaw results in drivers crossing airport runway

[unokitty]

"No matter what the signs say, the map on their iPhone told them to proceed this way," ...

Alaska Dispatch reported that the runway they crossed was used by 737 jets among other aircraft. No one was injured.

Of course, I can drive across that runway. I've got an iPhone and the iPhone said it was okay...

LOL

Are smart phones making people stupid?
Or do certain brands attract people lacking in a reality quotient?
Or is something else in play here?

Just wondering,
Uno

 

[rudeguy]

rule #1 in life: People are morons

 

[Genx87]

I remember a few years ago a woman in Canada followed her GPS into a swamp and got stuck. We are becomming so reliant on technology our critical thinking skills are withering away.

 

[Kaido]

rule #1 in life: People are morons

See, it's stuff like this:

The Australian police went so far as to warn that Apple's software was "life threatening" after motorists became stranded in a national park after being given the wrong directions to the city of Mildura, Victoria.

What kind of person goes into the outback without a paper map, or pre-tracing their route instead of just relying on a cell phone (where the battery could die or the GPS could lose reception!)? Same thing with crossing paths with a runway or driving into a ditch or off the road or whatever - you still have to use your brain, and there's always going to be a segment of people who get so glued into what they're doing that they quit paying attention.

I am ALL for self-driving cars, for sure - way better than humans :thumbsup:

 

[Fritzo]

"But that's where I WANTED to go!"

 

[Kaido]

And speaking of self-driving cars & crazy human tendencies, I almost witnessed a horrific car accident yesterday - chilling in stop & go traffic for an hour & the lady in the giant SUV behind me decided she'd had enough and drove across the painted barrier into the HOV lane. Without looking. I've never seen anything like what happened next - an older Civic was doing 70 or so in the HOV lane and had to slam on his brakes. White smoke for 200 feet. Went sideways, fast & the furious-style. The lady in the SUV just had no clue and kept accelerating, so the Civic's slowdown - somehow - matched the lady's speed-up and they didn't crash. It was so sudden I sat there shaking for like 20 minutes, that Civic would have just been demolished D: Wish I had had a dashcam!

 

[sdifox]

Of course, I can drive across that runway. I've got an iPhone and the iPhone said it was okay...

LOL

Are smart phones making people stupid?
Or do certain brands attract people lacking in a reality quotient?
Or is something else in play here?

Just wondering,
Uno

More like enabling stupid people to be even stupider.

 

[Rakehellion]

Is no one wondering why an airport runway was accessible by civilian traffic? That's an enormous security issue.

 

[sdifox]

Is no one wondering why an airport runway was accessible by civilian traffic? That's an enormous security issue.

Alaska...

 

[rudeguy]

Is no one wondering why an airport runway was accessible by civilian traffic? That's an enormous security issue.

its Alaska

Probably the only paved road for miles

 

[AdamK47]

rule #1 in life: People are morons

Especially those who use Apple products.

 

[xBiffx]

Especially those who use Apple products.

+1 x Google :sneaky:

 

[PowerYoga]

it's alaska, I'm surprised there's a map for that place.

 

[Printer Bandit]

there are cars in alaska? i thought they all got around on dogsleds.

 

[sdifox]

there are cars in alaska? i thought they all got around on dogsleds.

You can't see Russia sitting in dogsleds ()

 

[bignateyk]

Of course, I can drive across that runway. I've got an iPhone and the iPhone said it was okay...

LOL

Are smart phones making people stupid?
Or do certain brands attract people lacking in a reality quotient?
Or is something else in play here?

Just wondering,
Uno

I was out in the middle of nowhere (like 80 miles down a dirt road) in the desert in Arizona doing military related testing, and at about 11pm we see this yuppie in a Winnebago driving down the road trying to find a campsite. Said he followed his GPS. Who the hell follows their GPS 3 hours down a dirt road into the desert??

 

[Rakehellion]

I was out in the middle of nowhere (like 80 miles down a dirt road) in the desert in Arizona doing military related testing, and at about 11pm we see this yuppie in a Winnebago driving down the road trying to find a campsite. Said he followed his GPS. Who the hell follows their GPS 3 hours down a dirt road into the desert??

He's in the desert. What else is he going to do, ask directions?

 

[bignateyk]

He's in the desert. What else is he going to do, ask directions?

How about realizing after the first hour down a random dirt road in the middle of nowhere that you might be lost and turn around.

The guy just kept driving down the road after we told him there was no campground anywhere around. My guess is he ran out of gas somewhere in the middle of the desert and got eaten by vultures.

 

[sdifox]

How about realizing after the first hour down a random dirt road in the middle of nowhere that you might be lost and turn around.

The guy just kept driving down the road after we told him there was no campground anywhere around. My guess is he ran out of gas somewhere in the middle of the desert and got eaten by vultures.

Cue this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no7xEmZramk

 

[nehalem256]

I remember a story of a woman who took google maps walking directions and get herself hit by a car because the route didn't include sidewalks.

She sued google of course

 

[CrackRabbit]

How about realizing after the first hour down a random dirt road in the middle of nowhere that you might be lost and turn around.

The guy just kept driving down the road after we told him there was no campground anywhere around. My guess is he ran out of gas somewhere in the middle of the desert and got eaten by vultures.

Did he happen to have a large snake in the passenger seat?

 

[boomerang]

I have a very difficult time believing that in these days of super high security an individual would be allowed to drive a car across a runway at an airport in the U.S.

A few weeks back I went to a CPL class that was taught in a building on the outer fringes of an airport. We had to be let in by key card through a gate with a camera on it. Just to be clear, we couldn't be let in through the camera, an individual had to let us in by swiping a card. We had to show ID and sign in.

We were admonished not to step out onto the road in front of the building on breaks. Doing so would result in our arrest and we would be subject to a $10,000 fine. Security cars went up and down that road with regularity.

I know Alaska is a long ways away from the mainland, but I have a hard time believing that security could be that much different there than here.

 

[rudeguy]

How about realizing after the first hour down a random dirt road in the middle of nowhere that you might be lost and turn around.

The guy just kept driving down the road after we told him there was no campground anywhere around. My guess is he ran out of gas somewhere in the middle of the desert and got eaten by vultures.

wonder if he met Nate?

 

[Pardus]

Turn left onto Runway 6
Proceed 1000 feet to Gate 16
You have arrived at your destination.

 

[Vdubchaos]

In other news, Apple releases an airplane.