When technology is not enough

[mrhagen]

I just read this. I checked with snopes but couldn't find anything. Does anyone know if it's a true story? I hope it's a hoax (it sounds like one), but can't confirm it one way or the other.

First Place Award winner for 2009

Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs.. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down? $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

[nicbot]

It's a hoax. This is part of what they call the Stella Awards (from the old lady Stella that sued McDonald's for burning herself with hot coffee). While there are some real wacky court cases that get the Stella Award each year, lots more are simply made up, just like lots of other things you see on the Internet.

[Camper22]

You are absolutely right, nicbot. There is such a thing as the Stella Awards, but lots of fakes going around. Lots of people download them from the internet and think they are true because they believe everything they read on the web People, wake up, just because it's on the web, it's not necessarily true!!!! Be cautious and use common sense and do some research. The *REAL* Stella awards site, has a list of some of these *fakes* including the winnabego one the original poster mentioned. Here is the link to the site, see for yourself.

http://www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html

[garder]

You are absolutely right, nicbot. There is such a thing as the Stella Awards, but lots of fakes going around. Lots of people download them from the internet and think they are true because they believe everything they read on the web People, wake up, just because it's on the web, it's not necessarily true!!!! Be cautious and use common sense and do some research. The *REAL* Stella awards site, has a list of some of these *fakes* including the winnabego one the original poster mentioned. Here is the link to the site, see for yourself.

http://www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html

The original may have been a hoax, but this isn't Common sense is leaving our society very quickly.

http://mashable.com/2010/05/30/google-maps-lawsuit/

[billrot]

That's not the ONLY real one What happened to common sense?

http://news.cnet.com/Is-GPS-liability-n ... 26346.html

[xavier]

That's not the ONLY real one What happened to common sense?

http://news.cnet.com/Is-GPS-liability-n ... 26346.html

Although I agree that common sense is the most important component missing here, we also should not give manufacturers of these devices, or companies that develop the software for them a free pass. Precisely because their use is important, they should be held to strict standards.