Trapster.com - Against Speed Traps

This is the Trapster Speed Trap Sharing System for Mobile Phones home page. See a speed trap (police with radar or laser gun), press a button on your phone, or call a toll free number. Others will be alerted by audio from their phone, or SMS, as they approach the trap location. You can also enter "static" location traps such as red light cameras and speed cameras and usual police hiding places. It uses a combination of GPS / aGPS (cell tower) and the new WiFi location technology (same as announced for iPhone on 1/15/08) for location, voice transcription, and SMS for users who don't want to download an app to their phone. You can add the Trapster Google Mapplet (aka the Trapplet) to your Google MyMaps. It works on most Nokia smartphones, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, any phone that supports Java and has GPS or Bluetooth GPS, many "flip phones" from ATT, Alltel, Boost, Helio, metroPCS, Sprint via WHERE.com, and more platforms coming soon. It also has a simple API for integration with lots of connected GPS devices. (Just 2 URLs to remember).

"Your mobile phone alerts you as you approach police speed traps."

Everyone needs this, it's totally free, and it saves you money. Tickets can cost hundreds of dollars, not to mention the risk of increased insurance premiums, and even the loss of your license. What's more, even the police don't mind it. It beeps, people slow down, and they have met their objective. It expands their presence. They can always find someone else to pull over. Most police just want you to slow down. We all know speed limits are posted objectively but enforced subjectively. This system simply helps remind good intentioned drivers to slow down.

If everyone starts to use it, won't it eventually become illegal? A lot of a state's income comes from traffic fines. And, imagine your cell phone beeping everytime there's a speed trap, won't it become really annoying?