The New York Police Department is demanding Google stop allowing users to post DUI checkpoint data on its live traffic and navigation application, Waze.
In a letter to Google, the NYPD states that allowing users to upload GPS data of police locations is “encouraging reckless driving.”
“Individuals who post the locations of DUI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct since such actions could be intentional attempts to prevent and/or impair the administration of the DWI laws and other relevant criminal and traffic laws. The posting of such information for public consumption is irresponsible since it only serves to aid impaired and intoxicated drivers to evade checkpoints and encourage reckless driving,” NYPD acting Deputy Commissioner Ann Prunty wrote in the letter to Google dated Feb. 2.
The letter demands that Google remove any current data and take “necessary precaution” to cease the data posting practice on Waze, Google Maps and any other platform owned or associated with Google.
In the letter, the NYPD further states that it “will pursue all legal remedies to prevent the continued posting of this irresponsible and dangerous information.”
In response, a Waze spokesperson told CNN on Thursday, “We believe highlighting police presence promotes road safety because drivers tend to drive more carefully and obey traffic laws when they are aware of nearby police. We’ve also seen police encourage such reporting as it serves as both a warning to drivers, as well as a way to highlight police work that keeps roadways safe.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
