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I don't want to belabor my point because this is not the forum for this
kind of discussion but because we are all human and can from time to
time find ourselves in similar but different situations (I have and
obviously got out alive.) I want to make clear how this kind of tragedy
can happen.
It's not the map folks. Despite what the press might indicate, these
kinds of tragedies whether in the mountains, in the desert, or on the
river are usually a result of a series of small mistakes which add up to
a tragedy. It's important to step back and look at the "little" mistakes
and RECOGNIZE that you are in trouble before you are in even bigger
trouble.
For example, the Kim family missed the turn off from I-5. How many times
have we ALL done that one? They chose NOT to turn back and find the turn
off. That was a mistake. They told no one exactly where they were going.
Had they done so, they made the mistake of changing their route. But we
ALL do that kind of thing.
They were traveling in winter without adequate clothing. I carry a
sleeping bag in my car at ALL times. Why? Because I never know when I
might be in the mountains and stuck overnight. Forty degrees and wind
can bring on hypothermia. The first organ to be affected is the brain
and thus, your judgment.
The point is: recognize when the accumulation of small mistakes can get
you into serious trouble and CORRECT yourself immediately.
OK. I'll stop and we can return to technical writing. My thoughts and
prayers go out to the Kim family. After nine days in the wilderness,
three out of four made it home.
Candis L. Condo
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+ccondo=c-cor -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+ccondo=c-cor -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of Claire Conant
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 8:26 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Map documentation (was CNET Editor Death Caused by a
TechnicalCommunication Mistake?)
This is truly a tragic story, but one we can all learn from. My
condolences to the Kim family.
In November, I was in Maui and we rented a car from Budget. Budget gave
us a map that had sections highlighted with this text: "Do not drive
between these points. Driving on unauthorized roads violates car rental
contract."
At first I wondered why. Then I read on another related map, under the
big red caution heading, that the road was undeveloped and you could hit
potholes and damage the underside of the car, making it inoperable. And
that if you did that, you were on your own because when you signed the
contract you said you wouldn't drive those roads.
Okay, so fine, I was warned and decided not to go that route. Not worth
the risk to me. (Thinking mostly of the monetary cost to get us out of a
jam, not the risk to life or limb.)
However, one day, we (mom and I and our friend who lives in Maui)
decided to drive the road to Hana. We got to Hana and had dinner and
said friend decided she was carsick and pressured me HARD (worse than a
bad car salesman) to take the unauthorized route home. She insisted that
she drove it all the time (although she'd never driven the Hana road
herself....hmmm) and that it was perfectly safe. She pressured and
pressured and what made it difficult for me was that we had to stay with
her that night before heading home. I kept insisting that I did NOT want
to go that route, I was the driver, I was liable for the car and the
safety of the passengers, and that there was a reason that the car
company said not to go that way - I even read her the text. She kept
insisting that it was fine, straighter and faster - and she assured me,
safe. She knew so much better than the car company. Argh.
Well, fate saved me from having to stand up and tell her firmly NO
(which I would have ultimately done, in case you were wondering.) We
asked the waiter if the road was even open. No, the earthquake had taken
the road out and it was closed. Phew. Not only the friendship saved, but
lives possibly.
My point? I guess I have several. Good documentation (tech writing
tie-in) is written clearly to caution you but also to tell you *why* not
to do it. For many of us, just saying don't do it isn't enough. In this
case, Budget and other map makers there did a good job. They used the
CAUTION heading correctly (could cause harm to person or object).
The other point - even a native (in this case defined as someone who has
lived there for over five years) doesn't know why a road is considered
unsafe and can make bad recommendations or choices.
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