Google Maps launched its Street View feature in the U.S., and the cars that capture photos for it, back in 2006. Google‘s fleet of camera-equipped vehicles quickly set out to map the entire world, and by 2009, they had hit this remote road in Finland.
One local horse was not expecting it.
Horse startled by Google Street View car on road in Finland. H/t @DannyDutch. https://t.co/kSM01MW2N2 pic.twitter.com/HxGGGcIn2g
— Kevin Donnellan (@Kevind04) April 20, 2016
Some of the finest gems on Street View go undiscovered for years after they make it online, and this sequence of five photos is no exception.
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As soon as it saw the car coming, that horse peaced the hell out, totally indifferent as to whether its rider remained mounted. At least the driver seems to have stopped to help. The final frame shows the car pulled to the side of the road, pointed toward the equestrian crumpled on the ground.
Not the worst disaster ever caught on Street View—which has seen killings, bike thefts, and streetside handjobs—but a rare incident where the car actually played a role in the mishap. Wonder how one of Google’s self-driving cars would have handled it.
