Stupid People Should NOT Use Waze

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
Staff member
Joined
May 18, 1997
Messages
55,534
If you drive your car into a lake because Waze told you to drive down a boat ramp and then out onto a frozen lake, then you are too stupid to use Waze. Scratch that, you are too stupid to drive. May I suggest grabbing an Uber?


She added that the company encourages "drivers to keep their eyes on the road and use all environmental information available to them to make the best decisions as they drive."
 
Last edited:
I guess an Uber would help, because those drivers don't really know how to follow instructions from the phone, so they'll probably miss the turn to get to the dock?
 
You mean we have driving tests? I thought the DMV in Texas was just mailing the licenses to the kids as they turned 15. No? Well, if that is the case, then YES we need better testing!

Here is my deal. If the weather was so bad they could not see where they were going, then why the hell were they driving anywhere!?!?!?!
 
I'm sorry. but, I have been using GPS since GPS existed - they simply don't do this. ever. I've had them tell me to go onto a ferry, but never have I ever had them put me into a lake. There are pieces of this story that are missing.
 
I'm sorry. but, I have been using GPS since GPS existed - they simply don't do this. ever. I've had them tell me to go onto a ferry, but never have I ever had them put me into a lake. There are pieces of this story that are missing.

It was mentioned in the article that someone duplicated the event. One thing is certain, we now have the ability to measure stupid! If anyone is still using Waze, after this,...there ya go. :)
 
It was mentioned in the article that someone duplicated the event. One thing is certain, we now have the ability to measure stupid! If anyone is still using Waze, after this,...there ya go. :)

uh... i will say the same thing i said regarding apps sending people into the so cal fires.... its not the freakin app. its the freakin idiot using the app. stop blaming an app for peoples stupidity and inability to pay attention to the slightest of things going on around them much less large things like fires lakes and other such issues.
 
It's not likely, but it's possible the bad driving conditions led to the driver not seeing she was on a boat ramp until it was too late. I've driven a lot in New England winters, and if it's dark and snowing, it can be hard to see any distance in front of you.
 
uh... i will say the same thing i said regarding apps sending people into the so cal fires.... its not the freakin app. its the freakin idiot using the app. stop blaming an app for peoples stupidity and inability to pay attention to the slightest of things going on around them much less large things like fires lakes and other such issues.

Uhmmm,..I am not blaming the app for the stupid thing this driver did. I am saying anyone continuing to used an app which will gladly guide you into a lake, over a cliff, or into a fire is stupid.
 
TFA did mention the three were visitors to the area. Doesn't absolve them of doing a little pre drive planning and learning where some of the hazards are. Example: if you know you are on the east side of a lake or raging wildfires, directions to drive west should set off mental alarms. Since there were three of them, a non-driver could have had Google Maps up and showing their location as a backup. The large blue area in front of the car should have been a clue something wasn't right with the directions.
 
Are these people looking for a payout for a lawsuit or something. If an app tells you to turn into a lake, you have to be REALLY stupid - not just stupid, but nearly brain dead; you're a fucking slug - to see that body of water and do it. Ice or not. There is no excuse. App or not, you're not smart enough to operate a motor vehicle or any household appliance and probably need to be in a home where others take care of you and change your diaper (if you don't know to not drive into a lake, you're probably not smart enough to be potty trained).
 
I am saying anyone continuing to used an app which will gladly guide you into a lake, over a cliff, or into a fire is stupid.

Apps aren't perfect. There will always be fuck ups. But, if it's 99% right, then I'd still use it. I would know better than to drive someplace that wasn't safe, regardless of what the app said. If it was a flash flood that Waze didn't know about, I'd still have the mental capacity to say "Nah, I better not...".
 
Its the same thing as blaming a paper map for taking you a road that is closed or doesn't exist. People are stupid, simple as that. Its up to you to drive and not drive into a lake.
 
So when your fancy new "autonomous" car follows the same route and drives you into a lake because of shoddy data/programming........
Like those new GM cars they are trying to prototype with no human controls...
 
This is one problem for self-driving cars (at least in rural areas with poor maps, mapping needs to catch up, it took me several years to convince google maps of where my house is). Hopefully though the car would be smart enough not to drive onto/into water, unlike some humans. These outlier cases will probably be pretty rare. I do remember once when I was 10 my mom almost drove us into a flash flooded wash in Az I yelled "stop" at the last moment...it was basically the same color as the dirt road.
 
Uhmmm,..I am not blaming the app for the stupid thing this driver did. I am saying anyone continuing to used an app which will gladly guide you into a lake, over a cliff, or into a fire is stupid.

I use Waze all the time, and I will continue to do so until a better map app for Android is available. Keep in mind though, Waze is more than just directions. Even when I don't need directions I use it to get warnings from others on the road about hazards and for better guidance to avoid traffic or alerts that cops were spotted ahead (has saved my butt quite a few times on road trips when you are constantly going through speed trap towns in an area you don't know well).

Waze, like anything else, is simply a tool to make our lives easier. It is not infallible. This type of thing has allegedly happened with Apple maps and google maps before, so unless you're planning on just busting out the ole paper map and a pencil then please GTFO. You have to be an extra level of retarded to stop using a map app because some dumb shit in maine drove into a lake and blamed the app, reproducible or not (not that I buy it all). Has there been a single actually verified case of this type of thing happening?

BTW the only person saying it is reproducible is the person whose Jeep ended up at the bottom of the lake. The person who, more than anyone, would want to be able to blame this on Waze and not on themselves. It also explicitly mentions that the alleged driver admitted to having a single beer at a party they were all at, but the officer did not think he was intoxicated while driving. So hear me out...

Its dark, foggy, you've had a few beers. You're just entertaining some friends having a good time. And then you fuck up and your car ends up in the lake.

What is more likely:

An app used by literally millions of users every day, millions of users who actively have not ever driven their vehicle into a lake, tells you to drive into the lake.

Or

Some drunk idiot drove their jeep into the lake while acting retarded and since nobody was around had their sober friend claim to be driving and then blame it on the map because sure as fuck we can't be responsible for our own actions.

Like, I'm sorry but nobody is this stupid. And if they are that stupid, they deserve everything that happened here and we should only be thankful that they didn't get anyone killed. Frankly, they should have their license revoked. But if you actually believe this then you're gullible as shit.
 
I'm sorry. but, I have been using GPS since GPS existed - they simply don't do this. ever. I've had them tell me to go onto a ferry, but never have I ever had them put me into a lake. There are pieces of this story that are missing.

I know Waze will happily direct you onto airport tarmacs given the chance. But yeah, at some point you need to have a brain.
 
Google Maps have directed me to the back side of Burbank airport.

Apple Maps: Couldn't find your way out of a paper bag.

Waze: Knows traffic pretty well for my local area. I'm going to keep using Waze thank you very much.
 
Going against the grain but where I live Waze is fucking awful. Google, although has been confused by roads next to each other, has been indescribably better. Up here you would be stupid to use Waze in the first place!
 
Well crap, I seem to have stepped into the smart phone zone and did not realize it. Must have been that damn app steering me wrong. DOH!
 
Use Waze and sometimes Apple Maps. Both work fine, both get me to where I need to go.

+100 million for better driving tests. Should be incredibly difficult to get a license.
 
This is one problem for self-driving cars (at least in rural areas with poor maps, mapping needs to catch up, it took me several years to convince google maps of where my house is). Hopefully though the car would be smart enough not to drive onto/into water, unlike some humans. These outlier cases will probably be pretty rare. I do remember once when I was 10 my mom almost drove us into a flash flooded wash in Az I yelled "stop" at the last moment...it was basically the same color as the dirt road.
Uh I am no fan of automated cars but I would think they are smart enough to notice there is a lake in front of you and to not drive into it. Then reroute the route. They don't just blindly follow GPS. You think if a tree falls down in the road it would keep driving through it cause it is not the GPS? At worst it will pull over and wait for driver input before proceeding.
 
Soon to be seen in Waze App ads, Chrysler's new door mounted airbags that detect large scale water intrusions. For the ex-scuba diver in you.
 
When you want to trade up your car but the resale value sucks, I suppose you could sink it and blame it on the GPS. /sh!ttyprolifetips
 
Uh I am no fan of automated cars but I would think they are smart enough to notice there is a lake in front of you and to not drive into it. Then reroute the route. They don't just blindly follow GPS. You think if a tree falls down in the road it would keep driving through it cause it is not the GPS? At worst it will pull over and wait for driver input before proceeding.
Yes and that's what I said. But there may be some outlier cases, you're driving down a snow covered road that end's at a frozen snow covered lake. Hopefully the mapping tech shows this and positioning of car on map is accurate and stops. Otherwise hopefully lidar (or whatever the car uses) can see the difference between a frozen roadway and a frozen lake, but their is the possibility the programmers forget that or some other problem occurs. Chances are low not zero, of course if it does happen hopefully the software improves and it's a one time thing. This is just an example I'm sure their are other outliers...but the better the maps (the first line of defense) the less likely they are to happen, and that's really my point. (Well and the accuracy of location determination.)
 
Here is my deal. If the weather was so bad they could not see where they were going, then why the hell were they driving anywhere!?!?!?!

If you cannot see where you are going, you shouldn't be going anywhere.
 
If you cannot see where you are going, you shouldn't be going anywhere.
Or slow down until you can see. I once drove up the Feather River Canyon at 5mph because the fog was so thick I had to drive by the guide lines. Safe enough at that speed though (barring getting rear ended by an idiot). But if it's a white out, no speed is safe, hell even the plows wait it out since they can't see the snow stakes. But people are too dumb to understand that, that's why Caltrans is always having to close the roads in blizzards...hey the sign says 25mph so it must be safe even though I can only see 10' ahead and the road has half a foot of snow on it and my tires are bald (but it's an all wheel drive!).
 
I remember years ago at Tahoe I watched a car drive down a boat launching ramp and right into the lake...but it kept going since it turned out it was a boat car, maybe this driver needs one of those (or a VW bug...anyone remember "What's up Doc")?
 
I had Apple Maps direct me to a graveyard and then tell me to walk 1.5 miles to someone's house one time (it was night time and raining, even better) rather than use the actual roads to get there. So I can believe that Waze fucked up. Nothing is flawless.

Article says it was dark, rainy, and foggy, and that they were tourists to the area. If they were using bluetooth directions and not actually looking at the map, this seems believable enough to me. I'll bet they pay closer attention in the future.
 
I've had Apple Maps direct me into non drivable areas before, so I don't doubt that it messed up. The key here is:

When Tara Guertin lent her Jeep to three friends from Connecticut who were doing some sight-seeing in Burlington, she did not expect the car to end up at the bottom of Lake Champlain.

As a citizen of Connecticut, this is all you need to know of how this story came to be.
 
Back
Top