Google Maps and Waze route warnings get a little help from the cops

[phillynews215]

• Drivers in Illinois will start seeing alerts from the State Police on their navigation apps.
• Notifications will warn drivers about crashes, traffic stops, and other conditions that could potentially be unsafe for them or the officers involved.
• Illinois will start seeding this data to Waze first, followed by Google Maps in the weeks to come.

When you think about the police and Google Maps, where does your mind immediately go? Probably nowhere particularly good, whether it be law enforcement officers asking judges to sign off on concerningly broad “reverse search warrants” targeting all Google users who wandered through a particular area, or pushing back against users submitting reports of speed traps on the highway to warn other drivers. Well, it might be time to stark rethinking some of those preconceptions, as we learn about one way the cops are using Google Maps for our benefit.

The state of Illinois is announcing an initiative where its State Police will coordinate with Google Public Sector to deliver real-time notifications for Waze and Google Maps (via 9to5Google). These would involve things like traffic stops or times when officers are offering roadside assistance, where the state wants to make sure that drivers are slowing down and making room, as well as more explicitly dangerous conditions including crashes or reports of other debris in the road.




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