An iPhone app to avoid speed traps. What's the over/under on the first government attempt to shut this down?
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» Is there nothing it can’t do? from dustbury.com
I refer, of course, to the humble iPhone, which has picked up some new applications of interest:
NMobile and Trapster are two mobile applications that provide up-to-date, detailed maps of speed-enforcement zones with live police traps, speed cameras o... [Read More]
Probably not long.
I have noticed a lot more state troopers sitting on the interstate over the last few months watching for speeders. Also, twice in the last week, I have been tailed by local police late at night for more than two miles right up to my driveway. Last night was the most infuriating since the cop forced his nose right up my ass trying to induce me to pick up the speed enough to have cause to stop me.
I often wondered how to deal with that problem, Yancey. It is infuriating in a car, but on a motorcycle it is downright life threatening (Compare the stopping distance of a 500lbs bike to that of a 6,000lbs crown vic). On occasion, I simply turned on my flashers and pulled over, letting the cop pass. And, so far, they have everytime. But the one time one will want to know why I just pulled over.. Well, how do you start such a conversation?
I doubt the government will be able to shut it down. If you live in the DC area you probably listen to WTOP. How often have you heard Lisa Baden warn of "police activity"?
If they were smart they would just sign up all of their officers and "report" activity where they want to curb speeding but don't have the manpower to enforce.
Ken and Yancey:
Videotape and a plaintiff's lawyer would seem like the best solution. Seriously. (But film it from the backseat of a passenger car, not a motorcycle.)
Kinney, that might help in the rare cases where they actually want to curb speeding, but does little in the more common case where they want to do fund raising. I guess if they call in enough false alarms people might eventually stop paying attention to the real ones, but that could take quite a while.
Eh? I'd go with even. It will take them another month to even hear about it, and unless their is a precipitous drop in tickets, they won't be looking.
There may be a government ATTEMPT to shut this down, but I suspect that the ever-pesky 1st Amendment may well keep the speed trap app in business.