How to Break the Law with Google Maps
Date: July 29, 2014Category: Author: Michael Brinson
I was using Google Maps recently to find the quickest path to get to a local Lowe’s store. Now.. I know that Google is always looking for ways to improve and that the goal of Google Maps is to give you the most efficient directions to bring you to your final destination. I was surprised to discover, however, the lengths they’re willing to go to in order to reach that goal.
Arizona statute #28-651 is titled “Use of private property to avoid traffic control device prohibited” and states: “A person shall not drive on or through any private property, road or driveway to avoid obedience to traffic rules or traffic control devices.” You can read the statute here: https://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/28/00651.htm&Title=28&DocType=ARS
Most other states have a similar statute in place.
So here we have clear evidence that Google is directing me to break the law by driving through private property to avoid obedience to a traffic control device. I do agree with Google that this most likely is the faster way to go.
So now I am left wondering; could Google be considered an accomplice to a crime if I were to follow their directions and, as a result, I am cited and fined under this statue? Yes, I know it’s actually only a “civil violation” (less serious than a “crime”), but you get my point.
Of course, I already know the answer. Google has an army of lawyers working to protect themselves from as much liability as possible, and I definitely don’t hold that against them. Society is, in general, entirely too sue-happy; the fact that Google needs an army of lawyers in the first place amply corroborates this point.
My purpose in sharing my experience with Google Maps is two-fold. First, it’s my turn to write a post for the company blog. And second, it’s my turn to write a post for the company blog. Well, I suppose another reason could be because I love talking about Google Maps even if it’s not specifically about Local Maps SEO for Dentists. Hence this tongue-in-cheek example.
Joking aside, as I pondered this event my thoughts were drawn to reflect on the current state of our society and how we’re overburdened with law, after law, after law, built on top of preexisting laws that progressively dig further and deeper into the minutiae of our everyday lives.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “the straw that broke the camel’s back?” I cringe every time I hear someone say anything similar to, “There ought to be a law!” Inevitably there is some politician somewhere who is all too eager to pick up that torch and proceed to throw yet another straw on the already overburdened camel’s back. Of course you know what happens when torches and straws come together.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not advocating for people to start driving through the corner gas station to avoid traffic signals. Step back with me for just a moment here and look at the high-level picture. My point here is that maybe.. just maybe.. we’re in the middle of what Benjamin Franklin described with this statement:
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
But all is not lost. Clinton Duffy was a prison warden who was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. When faced with a critic who said, “You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!” he responded, “You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men. And men change every day.”
We can return to taking accountability for our own actions and choose to rely more fully on our internal moral compasses, instead of relying on the external forces of an increasingly controlling and burdensome set of laws.
See that symbol? The man walking? Those are walking directions. It’s not illegal to walk through a parking lot.