Speed trap repo w/google maps

**JettaGLI** · 05-31-2005, 12:24 PM

I am sitting at work and just got an idea that could turn out to be pretty cool. I was thinking of developing a site that would track common speed traps. I have seen a couple of these, but they have been sub-par to par, nothing really cool.

What would be real nice is to develop a site that could take info on speed traps and put it in a google map (maps.google.com for anyone still in the dark ages).

Something similar to http://labs.google.com/ridefinder or http://www.chicagocrime.org/

It would be super cool to come to a site and be able to put in your address, and see buttons on a map representing known speed traps.

I'd be interested in developing this, so I have a pretty strong background in comp sci, but would need some help. Anyone interested?

All the code would be GPL'd of course

-Bill

EDIT: thought I was in Speed Trap forum, admin feel free to move this. -Thanks

**SmaartAasSaabr** · 05-31-2005, 03:02 PM

Not much to it.

Check out the Speedtraps website, ie www.speedtrap.org

Example:
http://www.speedtrap.org/speedtraps/...treal&st=18122

maps to

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=marcel...0.116751&hl=fr

**JettaGLI** · 05-31-2005, 03:17 PM

Yes, you could go in and map it yourself, but it would be much nicer to be able to see a map with everything premapped. if the database was good enough you could enter a route you were taking (Google maps takes care of this much like MapQuest), and this tracking site would run your route through the database, giving all relevent known traps. That could be a huge help on road trips, knowing where to expect cops and such.

Just an idea, but an elegent interface with Google maps could attract more people and a better database, and features like mapping known traps along a route would be really cool.

Play around with the Chicago crime database and get an idea of what might be possible. Google maps would be a great visual aid rather than just entering every address you come accross.

Just a thought, would be a fun project anyways.

-Bill

**Nothegger** · 05-31-2005, 04:10 PM

I agree that could be pretty cool. Especially if maps had indicators that changed color as how many times have LEO's been encountered at each location, etc.

**JettaGLI** · 05-31-2005, 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by Nothegger

I agree that could be pretty cool. Especially if maps had indicators that changed color as how many times have LEO's been encountered at each location, etc.

That is an exelenct idea, and just the thing that this could service. As an automated service this is exactely what could be easily done. With Google it would not to *too* hard to make something with such features a reality. A nationwide database is as simple as one built for a small town if done right, and this is the kind of feature that would keep it 1) Robust and informative and 2) Up to date.

This is something that we could all contribute to. With help it would be far more useful than any site currently offering information on speed traps. With a robust mapping interface something like this could really start to provide some useful information, as opposed to the town-by-town records that are currently available.

I think we can make something really inovative and interesting. I'm willing to get started but I will need some other devs to help. I can do code, but will need some help. Plus I suck at web deisn (code's one thing :? ).

-Bill

**jamesd** · 07-08-2005, 03:53 AM

This is an excellent idea.

It would be a nice if a detector company would integrate GPS and some kind of flash media to store info and location on and you could upload it to their website or something cool like that.

I'm a CarPC junkie so this is an idea thats been kicked around mp3car.com for sometime. It could be completely automated with a CarPC with the right interface between a detector and a PC, but the only detector that has that support is the V1 and I have an X50. There is some called projectezp.com but I haven't looked at it in a while.

**CLTX11** · 07-08-2005, 11:22 PM

who is going to keep the update of the software? How much time do you have to keep it up? Who will be giving the input? Forums members or are you goign to post it up on diff sites?

**jamesd** · 07-09-2005, 11:30 AM

Input on the software could be done in many ways. It could range from being a simple online form or to automatically with a radar detector connected to a PC in the car and clicking a button on your CarPC to verify a trap.

**edweird** · 07-09-2005, 12:17 PM

I've been getting to know the free version of Google Earth software, that was recently released. It combines mapping with sattelite photography, and you can do some cool flyover stuff like those CIA animations you've seen in the movies.

Anyway, the help file says you can share the data you save.

You want to share the saved data with other Google Earth users.

You can email any placemark, shape, or folder to another Google Earth user from within the Google Earth application, but you can also email any KMZ file located on your computer to a Google Earth user. In addition, you can post a KMZ file to the Keyhole BBS where other Google Earth users can view the information, or you can serve the file on your own web server or from any network location.

So a person could compile and post a file of all of the speed traps in their area. Just a thought.

Ed