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from the where-there's-a-will-there's-a...waze dept.
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.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday February 08 2019, @05:13AM (4 children)
> I've never figured out how Americans stand for...
I think there's a Popular Misconception that the American government does what the people want. USA was founded on the principles of self-government, but USA is a Republic run by an elected Congress who say one thing, get elected, then often do another.
USA was supposed to have "checks and balances" but they've mostly been eroded. Sometimes they're put into practice for show and to appease the masses, but generally the courts side with other govt. agencies, unless you have lots of money and really good lawyers and some luck. Think about this: sometimes courts refuse to hear a case. How is that for justice?
All that said, drunk driving is a pretty big problem and nobody has come up with a solution. Some states are passing tougher and tougher repeat-DUI-offender laws. The unconstitutional checkpoints do catch drunks.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Friday February 08 2019, @05:24AM (2 children)
2045: ban on non-self-driving vehicles
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday February 08 2019, @07:49AM
Yeah, I've thought that too, and maybe much sooner. We have to sabotage the tech. and stave it off.
Come to think of it, what will the cops do then? Catch real criminals?
[sorry to all of the good officers out there, and there are many. but even you good ones are caught up in this get tough on crime no matter the collateral damage or cost culture.]
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday February 08 2019, @07:51AM
Lombard Street in Frisco would make a good testbed.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday February 08 2019, @04:32PM
They do catch drunks, I'll grant that. They also catch sundry other fish. Outstanding warrants, FTA (failure to appear), unpaid fines, drugs and other contraband, lapsed licenses and license plates, unregistered vehicles, uninspected vehicles, illegal window tint, and more. A roadblock is a fishing expedition. Drunks are only a small part of the haul when a roadblock is set up.