For someone living in a remote cabin at the end of a “very long, unpaved private road” in Colorado, it’s hard to imagine getting lots of visitors. Unfortunately for Tralique_24, the owner of such a cabin, he claims that thousands have driven onto his property without his consent. “A major navigation app routed thousands of cars down my private driveway,” he wrote in his post on r/legal. This is more than a mild inconvenience, but things took a turn for the worse when someone crashed into his wall.
A month ago, Tralique_24 says that a tourist came speeding down his private driveway in the dark, crashing straight into his concrete retaining wall. The unfortunate driver broke his leg, and his vehicle was totaled. However, despite having ignored all the “Private Property” and “No Trespassing” signs posted along said driveway, the injured driver is now allegedly suing Tralique_24.
“The driver is suing me for medical expenses and damages, claiming I failed to maintain a ‘public thoroughfare’ and that my retaining wall was an unmarked hazard,” Tralique_24 explained. Before this lawsuit, OP claims to have submitted dozens of reports to the navigation app’s parent company, sent letters to its legal team, and even contacted the authorities. “They completely ignored me,” he wrote, all his effort down the drain, with now this lawsuit as the worst case scenario.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he says his homeowner’s insurance is threatening to dump him now that his property has so much unmanaged traffic passing through it. Needless to say, Tralique_24 is at his wits’ end and is looking to take legal action against the tech company, which he left unnamed in his story. However, among the tens of thousands who upvoted his post, several Redditors feel as though they know who it might be.
Reddit Accuses Google of Being Responsible, to Which the Colorado Cabin Owner Confirms It in the Comments
“Google doesn’t designate public rights of way. Your insurance is being intentionally stupid if they are now saying your driveway is a public thoroughfare because Google says so,” remarked a commenter. “I agree with the “GOOGLE MAPS IS WRONG” statement,” expressed another. “My insurance isn’t blaming Google,” OP wrote in response, adding how it’s the physical traffic volume that is the issue.
Tralique_24 added how he put up a rope barrier to keep people from entering in the past. “Some idiot tourist literally cut it so they could pass. People visiting national parks are crazy entitled.” While a locked gate would be ideal, OP says he’ll need a special permit due to fire-hazard laws in rural Colorado.
As to whether anyone is helping him with the case, he noted that most attorneys he spoke with “seem intimidated.” Even though he has video evidence from his trail cam of the tourist’s accident, “The hardest part is finding a lawyer brave enough to fight a massive tech corporation,” he sighed.
