There have been some questionable Snapchat filters released recently, but this one goes down as perhaps the most dangerous.
The message app previously released a speed filter back in 2013 that allowed users to add photos or videos that measured speed in real-time and displayed how fast they were driving. This was an accident waiting to happen, and that's allegedly what happened.
At 11 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2015, teenager Christal McGee was using Snapchat's speed filter while driving her two coworkers (one pregnant) home in her father's white c230 Mercedes. Using the filter, McGee began speeding, revealing that she was "just trying to get the car to 100 miles per hour to post it on Snapchat."
After reaching 113 mph, McGee was ready to post the image of herself speeding. However, one quick glance up at the road revealed a Mitsubishi Outlander had just merged onto the four-lane highway. Going that fast even though the speed limit was 55 mph and with no time to react, the then-18-year-old smashed into the Mitsubishi driven by Uber driver Wentworth Maynard at 107 mph.
Maynard suffered serious trauma to his body and brain, and now needs either a walker or wheelchair to get around. McGee, on the other hand, posted another Snapchat photo immediately after the accident, this time while in the ambulance and with blood on her face. The caption read, "lucky to be alive."
Now, Snapchat and McGee are being sued over the accident. It makes sense that Maynard has filed a lawsuit against McGee to keep her accountable for being distracted while driving. However, he is also pursuing a civil lawsuit against Snapchat since its speed filter was to blame for the accident, according to attorneys. While it was the teen's fault that she was using the app while driving, she probably would not have been driving at dangerous speeds while looking at her phone if the filter had not been released. After all, what did Snapchat expect teens to do with the filter?
"We'll see to it that Christal McGee is held responsible, but we also want to see Snapchat held responsible," said T. Shane Peagler, an attorney on the case, said in a statement. "This is a product liability case because Snapchat put something very dangerous in the marketplace without any warnings or safeguards, and basically said, whatever happens, happens."
Snapchat only added a safety clause to its user agreement in March of this year.
This wasn't the only time Snapchat's speed filter could be partially to blame for causing an accident. A young woman in Brazil used the filter as she captured her boyfriend speeding before they got into an accident. A 19-year-old in the UK killed a driver in 2014 after speeding and using the filter.
Source: CNN Money
