Google Street View car careens into creek after 100mph cop chase
- Reference: 1691072825
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/08/03/google_maps_driver_arrested/
- Source link:
According to [1]Middletown Police Department , a small vehicle was observed passing several others heading westbound on US Route 36 outside Shenandoah High School. The vehicle was deemed by officers to be driving in excess of 100mph (160kph).
The officer present, Chief Landon J Dean, dutifully began pursuit – the speed limit on interstate highways is 70mph, 15mph in a school zone – and said he was able to identify the vehicle as a Google Maps car by virtue of the 360-degree cameras mounted on the roof.
[2]
By the time he caught up with the Google vehicle in the 8500 block of West US 36, it was still going at more than 100mph and refused to stop, the police claimed. The chase continued for several miles into Madison County, where the vehicle slowed briefly at a red light – only to pass straight through, according to the cops' statement.
[3]
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The pursuit came to an end east of Pendleton, when the driver cut south due to a bridge being out. It was at that point that the driver lost control and careened through a yard into a creek, say the cops.
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Pic: Middletown Police Department
Police said the driver, identified by a Florida driving license as Coleman Ferguson, was placed into custody and taken to Henry Community Health Hospital in New Castle. According to the police statement, he told officers he worked for Google and was afraid to stop.
[6]Google wants to 'supercharge Assistant' with AI as Meta gives bots a personality
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Having been given medical clearance, the man was arrested on charges of resisting law enforcement with a vehicle and taken to Henry County Jail. "Level 6" felonies such as this can carry prison terms of six months to two and a half years.
Google relies on contractors to drive their vehicles and was paying a reported $11-$17 an hour for the privilege in 2020.
According to a [10]Techradar interview with a geospatial technologist at Google back in 2009, contractors are chosen on the basis that they "know the local areas. We say 'We need to cover every street that it's possible for you to drive down' – that's a major element of what we do. We can only really drive down public streets so the drivers pretty much go off and drive their own local neighborhood."
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All a contractor has to do is drive around at the speed limit; the rest of the data-gathering process is automated. Whether the data quality is sufficient for Street View when it is gathered during a 100mph police chase is a question that remains unanswered.
A Google spokesperson told The Register : "We partner with contractors to drive and collect imagery. We take the safety of our Street View operations very seriously, and we're committed to working with the contracted company and local authorities to ensure the proper actions are taken to address this situation." ®
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[1] https://www.facebook.com/100067048532793/posts/press-releaseon-07312023-at-approximately-1700-hours-chief-landon-j-dean-observe/618828023695477/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZMvPI7ePCC--odqg2uvHJAAAA0g&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/08/03/googlestreetviewcarcreek.jpg
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/01/google_meta_ai_chatbots/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/27/google_web_environment_integrity/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/25/google_ai_environmental_impact/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/24/ai_in_brief/
[10] https://web.archive.org/web/20150906190927/http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/behind-the-scenes-with-google-street-view-590608
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZMvPI7ePCC--odqg2uvHJAAAA0g&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
i guess he thought it most likely a google car as it sped past & he likely couldn't read the bumper writing, later confirmed when it ended in the ditch.
Jumping to conclusions. If he was honest he would have suspected it being a Google car (good chance it was), and 'confirmed' it by the writing on the vehicle (although how hard is it for somebody to get Google Street View printed and stick it on their car) but simply seeing the camera is no confirmation.
I knew the suspect was reaching for a weapon in his pocket so I shot him. Turns out suspect had an itch just there and no weapon.
Point being, seeing a streetview style camera on car is not a guarantee that it is indeed a Google vehicle, or vehicle operating on behalf of Google. To say that's how you concluded it was Google is blatantly false.
he was able to identify the vehicle as a Google Maps car by virtue of the 360-degree cameras mounted on the roof."
I call BS.
So what? If it was speeding he was right to pursue it, no matter whose vehicle it was.
What would wind forces do to a roof-mounted camera at 100mph? More BS?
The same as they do to my roof box - I. E. Nothing if its properly secured. 100mph is a strong wind but has been within humans ability to engineer against for centuries. Just attach it firmly.
The officer didn't actually say he was able to identify the car as as a Google Maps car by virtue of the 360-degree cameras mounted on the roof. That seems to be a fabrication by El Reg.
The Press Release from the Middletown Police Department actually says:
"As the Vehicle passed by it was identified by Dean as a Google Mapping car with several 360 degree cameras mounted on a tall antenna on top of the car."
(I've only an FB link for it: https://www.facebook.com/100067048532793/posts/press-releaseon-07312023-at-approximately-1700-hours-chief-landon-j-dean-observe/618828023695477/)
Clearly the Google Street View decals all over the car helped in in that determination, with him then merely observing that there was a camera on a structure on top of it.
Then El Reg has badly paraphrased the police officer.
SO WHAT!? Now go away.
blurred faces
i always wondered how they blurred the faces
Can't wait to use streetview in this area, will feel like I'm in hyperspace in the millennium falcon or similar.
Pictures or it didn't happen!!
Pictures
Something wrong with the one in the article?
Driving that fast won't give me time to drop my trousers to them as they pass. They take all the fun away.
Updating, please wait a moment
There's a single spot in front of 5062 N Raider Rd (northbound lane, near a stop sign just a bit to the south of Shenandoah High School) that is a couple years older than the surrounding. It shows three small trees with no fence, whereas all the other nearby streetview photos show 2 larger trees inside a new chain-link fence (the littlest tree didn't survive).
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0055214,-85.5281324,3a,75y,6.22h,70.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si6QUorZADORSpxFaOVyR6w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
They had better ...
... keep an eye on that creek for a few months. There will be an inevitable rash of GPS-guided drivers who will make that same turn.
Google Creek View
Coming to a browser near you: Google Creek View , with 360 degree views of fishy parking spots.
"The officer present, Chief Landon J Dean, dutifully began pursuit – the speed limit on interstate highways is 70mph, 15mph in a school zone – and said he was able to identify the vehicle as a Google Maps car by virtue of the 360-degree cameras mounted on the roof."
I call BS. It could have been any of several companies who do this, the fact it has a camera on the roof doesn't identify it as Google or anybody else. The text on the rear of the vehicle, however, gives the game away.