MERIDIAN, Idhao — According to AAA Idaho, our state is coming off its worst year for roadway fatalities in 20 years. And as we enter the annual 100 deadliest days on our roadways, you might wonder why some travel apps give drivers a heads up when cops ore out trying to stop speeders. Turns out, it’s exactly what State Patrol wants to see.
(Verbatim of story that aired is below)
There once was a thing called radar detectors that could warn you if law enforcement was out there looking for speeders. They still exist. But thanks to the internet, that’s an industry that might just be obsolete.
“if someone is driving down the road and see pol officer on traffic stop or sitting there they will access the app and report a police officers location.” said Cpt. Mike Winans, ISP district 3.
After all those years of the public playing cat and mouse with police, you might think police are upset that the internet is exposing their speed enforcement locations. But they’re not.
“And you’re ok with that? I am.” said Winans.
Triple A Idaho says especially right now, the technology is a good thing.
“Obviously with the 100 deadliest days right now it’s a real asset to be able to have people thinking safety and talking to each other. It’s kinda cool because it’s almost this peer to peer hey they’re out here they’re looking and they’re helping us stay safe.” said Matthew Conde with AAA Idaho.
And when you realize some of the horrific high speed accidents these officers have seen over the years, it’s easy to understand why they feel so strongly about people obeying the speed limit.
"Once you deliver your first death notification or the first time you are on one of those scenes it definitely changes your perspective when it comes to traffic safety,” said Winans
State Police tell me if they wanted to spend all day every day pulling drivers over and giving them speeding tickets to make money, they could. But they don’t because that’s not the intention. They want people to drive safely. And if an app helps do that? More the better. In Meridian, senior reporter Roland Beres Idaho news six.
