May 19, 2022

Go straight, said Google Map; Driver takes family into a stream in Kottayam (Mathrubhumi)

Mathrubhumi (India): Go straight, said Google Map; Driver takes family into a stream in Kottayam. “The family from Karnataka was travelling to Alappuzha from Munnar. They relied on Google Maps for directions since the beginning of the journey. When they reached Kuruppanthara Kadavu, the Map recommended going straight. The driver, without noticing the big curve of the road, went straight and ended up in the stream. The car entered the stream even as the locals screamed at the driver but it was no use. As it has been raining in the area, the stream was full of water.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
May 13, 2022

The Ohio State University: The deadly impact of urban streets that look like highways

The Ohio State University: The deadly impact of urban streets that look like highways. “Serious auto crashes in urban areas are more likely on city streets that look to drivers like highways, new research suggests. The study used a novel approach: Ohio State University researchers applied machine learning techniques to analyze more than 240,000 images of road segments in Columbus, Ohio, taken from Google Street View. The goal was to see what the roads looked like to drivers and whether that was linked to serious and deadly crashes.”

Research & Opinion 0
April 13, 2022

Jalopnik: Pandemic Road Rage Is Experiencing An ‘Explosion’

Jalopnik: Pandemic Road Rage Is Experiencing An ‘Explosion’. “For all the money we, as a nation, spend on policing, you might think we’d have things like ‘databases on violent and deadly crime,’ but you’d be wrong! The American police apparatus thrives on funding without accountability, and that seems to be holding true for road rage, as the New York Times details.”

COVID-19 0
April 1, 2022

Our most dangerous streets: Huge new collision database points to Toronto’s postwar suburbs (Toronto Star)

Toronto Star: Our most dangerous streets: Huge new collision database points to Toronto’s postwar suburbs. “A Star analysis of a huge new database of Toronto traffic collisions is shining a bright spotlight on a distinctly suburban problem. The new data set, much larger and more complete than any previously available records, offers a comprehensive account of nearly 500,000 collisions reported to Toronto police between 2014 and 2021, most mapped to the nearest intersection.”

New Resources 0
January 23, 2022

Autoevolution: The Best 5 Google Maps Alternatives With Offline Maps Support

Autoevolution: The Best 5 Google Maps Alternatives With Offline Maps Support. “One of the best things about Google Maps is offline support. With this feature, Google allows you to continue enjoying its navigation capabilities without an Internet connection. This obviously comes in handy when data coverage is not available, no matter if we’re talking about a tunnel or a limited mobile plan that makes it harder to use an online navigation app. But of course, Google Maps isn’t the only app out there with support for offline maps, so if for some reason you’re now looking for an alternative, here are the best five you can try out today.”

Useful Stuff 0
January 22, 2022

Daily Reporter: WisDOT introduces GIS mapping system

Daily Reporter: WisDOT introduces GIS mapping system. “More than 1 million people in Wisconsin are non-drivers — many of whom are seniors, individuals with disabilities, young people and low-income individuals. The Non-Driver ArcGIS Online Application, available on the WisDOT website, enables state and local decision makers to locate non-driver populations in their area and begin to plan or expand public transportation options.”

New Resources 0
January 3, 2022

Los Angeles Times: Car crash deaths have surged during COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s why

Los Angeles Times: Car crash deaths have surged during COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s why. “It was a tally that shocked the experts: 38,680 deaths on U.S. roadways last year, the most since 2007, even though pandemic precautions had dramatically reduced driving…. He was wrong. The latest evidence suggests that after decades of safety gains, the pandemic has made U.S. drivers more reckless — more likely to speed, drink or use drugs and leave their seat belts unbuckled.”

COVID-19 0
December 30, 2021

SF Gate: Google Maps may have led Tahoe travelers astray during snowstorm

SF Gate: Google Maps may have led Tahoe travelers astray during snowstorm. “Social media posts, including from Crystal Kolden, a professor of forest sciences at UC Merced, have condemned the service for redirecting travelers away from closed highways to potentially precarious shortcuts. ‘This is an abject failure,’ tweeted Kolden Monday evening. ‘You are sending people up a poorly maintained forest road to their death in a severe blizzard.’”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
September 21, 2021

Vox: America’s car crash epidemic

Vox: America’s car crash epidemic. “Even as Americans have been driving less in the past year or so, car crash deaths (including both occupants of vehicles and pedestrians) have surged. Cars killed 42,060 people in 2020, up from 39,107 in 2019, according to a preliminary estimate from the National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit that focuses on eliminating preventable deaths. (NSC’s numbers are typically higher than those reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) because the NSC includes car deaths in private spaces like driveways and parking lots, and it counts deaths that occur up to a year after a crash.)”

COVID-19 0
September 6, 2021

NHTSA: Traffic deaths rise again as drivers take risks (Associated Press)

Associated Press: NHTSA: Traffic deaths rise again as drivers take risks. “The increase in traffic fatalities is a continuation of a trend that started in 2020. In June, the [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] reported that traffic deaths rose 7% last year to 38,680, the most since 2007. That increase came even as the number of miles traveled by vehicle fell 13% from 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

COVID-19 0
July 17, 2021

Yahoo News: Google Maps updates Ben Nevis route after complaints about ‘potentially fatal’ path

Yahoo News: Google Maps updates Ben Nevis route after complaints about ‘potentially fatal’ path. “Google has updated a Ben Nevis route in its mapping service after complaints it had suggested a ‘potentially fatal’ path for walkers. The tech giant denied its map offered dangerous directions for people on foot but did admit driving routes could be misinterpreted at the mountain in Scotland.” According to the article I linked to a few days ago, locals attempting to contact Google about this were ignored. Glad to see that news articles about the problem got them to change things before someone died.

Tweaks & Updates 0
June 18, 2021

CNET: Snapchat removes ‘speed filter’ amid safety concerns over reckless driving

CNET: Snapchat removes ‘speed filter’ amid safety concerns over reckless driving. “The app, introduced in 2013, has been linked to several deadly or near-fatal car accidents, many of which involved teens. The company has faced lawsuits from families of people who have been injured or killed in car accidents in which drivers were allegedly using the app and driving too fast to brag to friends.”

Tweaks & Updates 0

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