Senators Announce Blackberry Will Remove Apps That Help Drunk Drivers Evade Police

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and Tom Udall (D-NM) announced that, in response to their request, Research In Motion (RIM), manufacturer of Blackberry smartphones, will remove from their online store applications that help drunk drivers evade police.  Yesterday the senators sent a letter to smartphone companies, including RIM, asking them to remove the dangerous applications or alter them to remove the DUI/DWI checkpoint functionality. 

The applications pinpoint police enforcement zones through user-submitted information that connects to GPS data, providing drivers with the ability to evade DUI checkpoints, speed traps, and red light cameras. The applications are free to download from application stores.   The senators lauded RIM’s decision and renewed their call for other smartphone manufactures to follow suit.

“Drunk drivers will soon have one less tool to evade law enforcement and endanger our friends and families,” said the senators in joint statement.  “We appreciate RIM’s immediate reply and urge the other smartphone makers to quickly follow suit.”

The applications in question help drivers identify where local police officers have set up DUI checkpoints, allowing offenders to escape detection.  One application contains a database of DUI checkpoints updated in real-time. Another application, with more than 10 million users, also allows users to alert each other to DUI checkpoints in real time.

Law enforcement agents across the country have voiced concern over these products, with one police captain saying, “If people are going to use those, what other purpose are they going to use them for except to drink and drive?”

The dangers of drunk driving are well-documented. One person dies every 50 minutes in a drunk-driving accident, and more than 10,000 Americans die in drunk-driving crashes each year. 

Senator Lautenberg has fought to reduce drunk driving and underage drinking throughout his tenure in Congress.  Senator Lautenberg wrote the law that lowered the legal blood alcohol limit to .08 in all 50 states.  He also authored the law that established a national legal drinking age of 21, which has helped save thousands of lives across the country. 

Last month, Senators Lautenberg and Tom Udall introduced legislation to keep drunk drivers off the road by requiring the use of ignition interlock technology for all convicted drunk driving offenders.  Click here for more information. 

Yesterday, the four senators sent a letter to the smartphone makers Research in Motion, Google Inc., and Apple Inc, asking them to remove these apps from their online store.  Today, a RIM representative thanked the senators for bringing the issue to the company’s attention and said that they would comply with the senators’ request to address the applications, likely within the day.