Police want app ‘Waze’ to be disabled

A smartphone app called Waze, which allows drivers to mark where they spot police cars along roadsides, is under fire by police officers who want the app disabled.

Waze, which was bought by Google in 2013 for $966 million, is a free, social media type app which allows drivers to interact in real-time with other drivers on the road. The app currently has 50 million users in over 200 countries.

Traffic conditions are constantly updated within the app and any route detours or bad road conditions are also made visible for other drivers to see. The app also allows users to mark where they spot police cars on the road, but whether the police cars are part of a speed trap or a DUI checkpoint is not viewable.

FK – They’re our employees, our hired public servants, hired by our elected public servants, we’re supposed to know where they are and what they’re doing. They’re supposed to fear us, not the other way ’round.

If the purpose is ‘safety,’ then drivers will see the warning and slow down. If the purpose is revenue enhancement then those who control the police want speeding to continue so tickets can be written. Which is it? We know the answer. If a driver’s ‘license'(permission) was about safety few to no teenagers would be driving, we’d all be retested from time to time and no one past 65 or 70 would drive without being tested every couple years.

More from the ‘just-us’ crowd:

New bill proposes a ban on body armor

FK – After the blood starts flowing this is another law that won’t matter anymore.