Teh One Who Knocks
02-07-2019, 11:29 AM
By Angela Moscaritolo - PC Magazine
https://i.imgur.com/Q4OyBTM.jpg
People who drive drunk might love the crowdsourced DWI checkpoint alerts you can get on Waze. The New York City Police Department, however, isn't a fan of the feature.
According to CBS New York, the NYPD has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Waze owner Google ordering the tech giant to remove those alerts from its popular traffic and navigation app.
"Individuals who post the locations of DWI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct since such actions could be intentional attempts to prevent and/or impair the administration of the DWI laws and other relevant criminal and traffic laws," the NYPD wrote, according to the report. "The posting of such information for public consumption is irresponsible since it only serves to aid impaired and intoxicated drivers to evade checkpoints and encourage reckless driving. Revealing the location of checkpoints puts those drivers, their passengers, and the general public at risk."
Google recently started rolling out a similar feature to its main Maps app that warns users about police speed traps, according to Android Police. Users with access to it can see speed trap icons on the map and get an audio warning when approaching one.
In a Wednesday statement to PCMag, Google defended its speed trap warnings.
"Safety is a top priority when developing navigation features at Google," a company spokesperson said. "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."
https://i.imgur.com/Q4OyBTM.jpg
People who drive drunk might love the crowdsourced DWI checkpoint alerts you can get on Waze. The New York City Police Department, however, isn't a fan of the feature.
According to CBS New York, the NYPD has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Waze owner Google ordering the tech giant to remove those alerts from its popular traffic and navigation app.
"Individuals who post the locations of DWI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct since such actions could be intentional attempts to prevent and/or impair the administration of the DWI laws and other relevant criminal and traffic laws," the NYPD wrote, according to the report. "The posting of such information for public consumption is irresponsible since it only serves to aid impaired and intoxicated drivers to evade checkpoints and encourage reckless driving. Revealing the location of checkpoints puts those drivers, their passengers, and the general public at risk."
Google recently started rolling out a similar feature to its main Maps app that warns users about police speed traps, according to Android Police. Users with access to it can see speed trap icons on the map and get an audio warning when approaching one.
In a Wednesday statement to PCMag, Google defended its speed trap warnings.
"Safety is a top priority when developing navigation features at Google," a company spokesperson said. "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."