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NYPD Demands Removal of DUI Checkpoints From Waze App, Google Refuses

posted by martyb on Friday February 08 2019, @03:39AM   
from the where-there's-a-will-there's-a...waze dept.

takyon writes:

NYPD asks Google to scrap Waze's DUI checkpoints

The NYPD has sent Google a cease-and-desist letter, asking it to axe a Waze feature that allows users to mark cops' locations on the navigation app. Based on the letter first seen by Streetsblog NYC and CBS New York, authorities believe the feature is making it harder to enforce the law and keep the roads safe. The NYPD sent the cease-and-desist just a couple of weeks after Waze debuted speed camera notifications, but the cops' letter mostly focused on the fact that the ability allows users to give each other a heads-up about sobriety checkpoints.

[...] [Based] on the statement it provided to NYT, [Google] doesn't have any intention to give in to the NYPD's demand. It told the publication that safety is a top priority for the company and that "informing drivers about upcoming speed traps allows them to be more careful and make safer decisions when they're on the road."

Also at Gizmodo.

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Original Submission

• Some cops adbertise their DUI checkpoints Some cops adbertise their DUI checkpoints (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 08 2019, @05:13AM (2 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 08 2019, @05:13AM (#798176)

  Where I live, the cops advertise where they are going to set up DUI checkpoints. If you are too drunk to remember where they are, you are too drunk to drive.

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• Re:Some cops adbertise their DUI checkpoints (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 08 2019, @02:10PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 08 2019, @02:10PM (#798291)

  That's actually a good idea.
  So Google can save the Cops a lot of work screening folks who are sober enough to drive and use their cell phones at the same time.
  Sounds testable. With Google providing information, what sort of folks still got to the checkpoint.
  Was the resulting mix easier to sort, but still effective at improving safety?

  Parent

• Re:Some cops adbertise their DUI checkpoints (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday February 10 2019, @12:45PM

  by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Sunday February 10 2019, @12:45PM (#799080)

  I think in some areas it is just used to create awareness and hopefully frighten drivers into better behavior (having a designated driver for example). In NJ I remember there being a frequent DUI checkpoint on Route 9 just before a group of popular night clubs. One had to pass through it on the way out to the clubs*, but it was taken down by 2:30 am which is coincidentally just when the clubs started trying to shoo their customers out the door.

  *If I recall they just checked license and registration and handed you a brochure about why they do the stops.

  Parent