Don’t give lawbreakers a heads-up about where cops are, Google!
Google Maps’ new feature that tells drivers with smartphones the location of police officers is a great idea — if you’re a drunk driver, speeder or other dangerous motorist intent on eluding the law.
Apps like Waze, also owned by Google, have previously drawn fire from police organizations for letting users share cops’ locations.
The New York Police Department sent a letter to Google in February asking it to pull the police-sighting feature from Waze, arguing that it hindered officers’ ability to nab drunk drivers. The LAPD and the National Sheriffs Association concurred.
The feature, according to Business Insider, does let users report crashes, slowdowns, lane closures and the like, and let other drivers know to avoid them. Android users have been able to report some of these, but iPhone just got the upgrade. It’s always good to know before you hit the road if you’re going to be stuck on it for hours because of a jackknifed tractor trailer and change your route, or your timetable, accordingly. That’s a feature that benefits the public, and can potentially ease congestion.
But what public good can be derived from broadcasting the location of police officers on the road?
Google Maps’ new feature adds the label “speed trap” under incidents reported.
A Google spokesperson told Business Insider that the company believes the feature helps make roads safer, arguing that “informing drivers about upcoming speed traps allows them to be more careful and make safer decisions when they’re on the road.”
Nice try, but it begs the question: Shouldn’t drivers always be careful and make safe decisions? This handy new feature would let speeders slow down appropriately when approaching a “speed trap,” and presumably hit the gas once they’ve passed it. There’s much to be said for driving at safe speeds because you never know where the police might be.
Especially as speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities for more than two decades, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Do we really want to make it harder to stop speeders before they get a chance to cause accidents with potentially fatal results?
And as 1,370 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Massachusetts between 2003-2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control, letting those who are driving under the influence know where their erratic driving would be spotted so they can take a route that’s out of police view is a big step in the wrong direction.
We have a nascent legal marijuana industry in this state, and it’s having an effect on the roads. As the Herald’s Marie Szaniszlo reported, pot was the most prevalent drug found in drivers involved in fatal Massachusetts crashes from 2013 to 2017.
“People may think they can drive safely using cannabis, alcohol or other drugs,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, “but the research just doesn’t support it.”
That’s the problem — people think they’re “just fine” to get behind the wheel after a couple of beers or joints, and using the new Google Maps feature would let them think they’re just fine to take a route that avoids the police.
Police who could potentially stop them — and prevent them from killing themselves, or others.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/347V5m4
Post a Comment