"If someone slows down because of it, it's accomplishing the same goal of trying to get people to obey the speed limit"

Bill Johnson - Executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations

Have you ever been stopped by traffic police for speeding? I bet, it was not the most pleasant experience in your life, followed by the financial punishment and traffic school detention (if you are eligible). The best way to avoid speed tickets is avoid speeding. Yes, it is easier said than done. Especially, if you are in running late for your flight or the entire traffic flow is rushing beyond the traffic speed limits.

Anti-radar has been a good warning solution. But, it has at least three noticeable limitations:

1. It is not considered legal in all states.
2. Some of the police scanners have been recently upgraded to the new signal type, that is not catch able by the old anti-radar devices.
3. While driving in the mountains, sometimes, you can catch the police trap by anti-radar only at the moment, when radar registers your speed, not giving ahead-of-time warning.
   

The new free service Trapster ( http://www.trapster.com/ ) offers an interesting Web 2 online social solution to the problem: it offers one-touch reporting and automated alerts for police speed traps through their portal. Pete Tenereillo , a programmer in Carlsbad who developed Trapster, described it as "a social network for sharing information about police speed traps." Tenereillo confirmed that all most current-generation cell phones, Blackberries and other PDA’s can accommodate the Trapster software.

Trapster works like this: After you sign for a free membership, you can download the Trapster software to your cell phone or PDA. Later, on the road, when you spot a police trap hiding, you just punch in # 1 (pound one) on your cell phone or dial a toll-free number. Other users are then alerted on their cell phones or PDA when they approach the same speed trap, you discovered.

At this point, the service has not been met with opposition by law enforcement because it ultimately encourages drivers to slow down.