Idiotic Lawsuits
People sometimes make me wonder how they survive in life. They make some decisions that go against common sense and they end up getting injured or injuring someone else. Many people wonder why people do the stupid things they do and I think it is all related to how something is portrayed to them. Most of the media tends to add a disclaimer to any advertisements that are not real, or that are dangerous to try.
My step-father was telling me today about a guy who bought a top of the line RV, set cruise control and stepped away to go to the bathroom. Obviously the RV crashed before the guy made it to the bathroom. He sued the company and got millions (I am not sure but I think the commercial may have implied that it was an auto pilot). After seeing the new H3 commercial on TV I started wondering how long it would take before someone attempted the same thing with the H3. If you have not seen the video you can watch it below.
the guy sued because he set the cruise control and walked to the back of the RV, which resulted in the RV crashing. I hate to tell you this, but that story is an absolute lie. It is an urban myth.
If you go to this page you will find more about the RV incident. Some are saying that it is a myth and others are saying it is true. Both parties supplied links to debate their reasons but when I went to them they are both not found. The newspaper one might be real but it is moved to the paid archives. The other link about the myth was just a not found page.
Keep in mind that this commercial is un-edited. You can see the same one on the Hummer website or on your TV. Why do they not put a small disclaimer at the bottom of the screen stating this is not real? They are just asking for a lawsuit. Maybe I should go test drive one and test out this feature? I know it’s a bit lame but with the way the world is today, someone “could” do that and actually sue them and WIN!
4 Comments
The Badger
- 01/04/07
- 03:35 PM
For a better history of the “Cruise Control Urban Legend”, visit Snopes.com. I always find the microscopic text at the bottom of auto commercials hilarious: “Professional Driver on a closed course” – even more so now that most car commercials take place entirely inside a computer!
Joseph Crawford
- 01/04/07
- 03:38 PM
Yea i find the warnings funny also but with people out there who truly are stupid enough to pull off some of these stunts it’s amazing that courts side with them.
I guess stupidity can pay off if you play your cards right.
Joseph Crawford
- 01/04/07
- 03:39 PM
I must also say that the issue I am talking about is not a myth. My parents saw it on the local news channel. Someone did actually set cruise control in the RV and go to take a leak. They claimed the company implied that it was an auto pilot and won the lawsuit. I have yet to dig out the evidence of this case but I am going to find something 
Brian
Wow Joe that is something else. Don’t worry about trying it. I am on my way to do it tomorrow:) I need some extra loot anyway. Heh. Personally I do not believe that the small disclaimers are enough either. For a child that has seen one of these video’s with or without small unreadable text at the bottom makes no difference. Although your kids should not be testing out your new hummer you cannot guarantee they wont especially after seeing something like this. You know how the politicians must speak this advertisement was sponsored by? Well maybe, before a commercial even starts they should verbally include a disclaimer as well as the text version. I can never read the text ones anyway. Oh well next month after I recoup from this daring trick we shall go out to have the most expensive of dinners. Surely I will be able to afford it after this:)
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