“The maps shouldn’t have shown that the bridge was complete.”
Off the Edge
Three men in India died after Google Maps reportedly told them to drive off an incomplete bridge spanning the Ramganga River.
Portions of the bridge were washed away during a flood months earlier, and a construction company had only begun to rebuild it.
As Indian newspaper The Economic Times reports, the men were traveling from Gurugram to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh and seemingly didn’t see the end of the bridge ahead of them in time as they drove at night, causing them to plummet to their deaths.
Footage circulating online shows a group of onlookers examining the grisly scene from the edge of the abruptly ending structure, tens of feet above the ground.
According to local officials, mobile records indicated the group was using Google Maps right up until the accident occurred.
The victims’ families have since criticized the absence of safety measures and called for accountability.
“They were checking the route using Google Maps and fell from the incomplete bridge,” one of the victim’s brother-in-law Pramod Kumar told The Economic Times. “The road should have been blocked, but it wasn’t. The maps shouldn’t have shown that the bridge was complete.”
Green Light
It’s not the first time Google Maps directions have been implicated in an automotive death. Last year, the family of a tragically deceased North Carolina driver sued Google for negligence, claiming the app told him to drive off a collapsed bridge in 2022.
At the time, the family claimed the accident could’ve easily been avoided with a navigation systems update. The bridge had collapsed nine years ago and had remained unrepaired ever since.
As for the latest tragedy, plenty of questions remain. While it’s clear that negligence on the part of the construction company, which allowed cars onto the incomplete bridge, played a major role, should Google also be held liable for the deaths?
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the families,” a Google spokesperson told Futurism in a statement. “We’re working closely with the authorities and providing our support to investigate the issue.”
It’s not just incomplete or collapsed bridges — experts have since pointed out that GPS navigation services including Google Maps could lead hikers onto “potentially fatal” trails in remote areas.
Updated with comment from Google.
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