There are reports that James Kim became snowbound in Oregon because he was using directions from Google Maps. He was trying to get from Grants Pass to Gold Beach and Google’s route goes straight west through the mountains. Meanwhile, Yahoo Maps sends you down into California and then back up north along the coast. The report linked above says Yahoo and Mapquest would have sent Kim along that same route (south across the California border and then back up the coast) but when I tried Mapquest I got the same route Google suggested. Still, imagine Mrs. Kim and her kids, having survived in the mountains while their husband and father died, on the witness stand. If I were Google, I’d try to settle this out of court, if it comes to that. After all, they have enough money.
UPDATE: There’s more. The road barrier that would have kept the Kims off the snowbound road had been opened by a vandal, making it look as though the road was passable.
