No one likes getting speeding tickets. They can sometimes be a hefty amount even if you weren’t going that far over. Some could say just don’t speed but depending on the officer “Speeding” can mean different things. Some officers can pull you over for going over the limit by 1 mph. Well Google Maps wants to help with that using their speed trap feature.
The Android Google Maps application has had the “Speed Trap” feature for a while. But Apple devices weren’t able to mark locations of speed traps until just recently. Well Police are trying to push Google into removing the feature from the app. They are concerned that people will be able to know about police activity in real-time.
Police believe that the feature will let drunk drivers know where DWI points are. In addition they also say that it encourages speeding. In February the NYPD wrote a letter to Google stating, “Revealing the location of checkpoints puts those drivers, their passengers, and the general public at risk.” The NYPD had also demanded the Waze app, which is a traffic monitoring app also owned by Google, remove their police location feature.
The feature puts officers at risk by allowing terrorist and criminals to know the whereabouts of law enforcement officers, says the National Sheriffs’ Association. In a statement the National Sheriffs’ Association also said “There is no moral, ethical, or legal reason to have the police locator button on the app.”
Google believes by having the feature they can improve the safety of public roads and driving conditions. Google says, “Safety is a top priority when developing navigation features at Google.” and “We believe that informing drivers about upcoming speed traps allows them to be more careful and make safer decisions when they’re on the road.”
How do you feel about the “Speed Trap” feature? Should they have to get rid of it? Let us know in the comments below!
