NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The NYPD is fuming over a new feature on the popular GPS navigation app Waze that's been alerting drivers about DWI checkpoints.
The department is demanding Waze parent Google remove the feature that reveals the checkpoints, and it even sent the tech company a cease and desist letter.
In the letter, the NYPD says the alerts could actually be illegal because it hinders police from enforcing the law.
"Revealing the location of checkpoints puts those drivers, their passengers and the general public at risk," the letter reads.
According to Streetsblog NYC, Google is now offering some of the Waze alerts, like speed cameras, on Google Maps.
But the NYPD says they're only addressing the DWI checkpoint alerts.
A Google spokesperson told 1010 WINS, "Safety is a top priority when developing navigation features at Google. We believe that informing drivers about upcoming speed traps allows them to be more careful and make safer decisions when they're on the road."
Karen, of Brooklyn, told 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman that she likes the speed trap alerts.
"It gives you caution, like, 'Okay maybe I'm going a little too fast, I need to slow down,'" she said.
But when it comes to DWI checkpoint alerts, Karen said that's a different story.
"I think they should take that out, because if someone is driving drunk, then it's not safe for anybody else around them," she said.
