Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Google Maps
TL;DR
- Google Maps is changing the “Speed trap” option in its incident reports.
- “Speed trap” is being replaced by “Police.”
One of the best features Google Maps offers is incident reporting. Users have the ability to report anything from crashes to lane closures and more. Speed trap reports are particularly handy as they can alert you to the presence of a hidden police officer. A recent update, however, has replaced the “Speed trap” option with something new.
As you probably know, police commonly set up speed traps to catch unsuspecting speeders in the act. However, this isn’t the only reason a cop may be on the road. An officer could be directing traffic, in the middle of finishing a stop, and so on. If you wanted to create a report on an officer in the area for reasons outside of a speed trap, then the name “Speed trap” isn’t exactly suitable.
It seems that Google is aware of this misnomer and is making a change to the option. In a new update, the tech giant has quietly removed “Speed trap” and replaced it with a more appropriate, if not generic, “Police” option. In addition, the “Police” option sits higher on the list than where the “Speed trap” option was located. This brings incident reports in line with what Google showed us in an announcement back in July.
The update has appeared in the mobile app, but it’s unclear if the change was made in Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Speaking of which, this change follows the recent rollout of incident reports to Android Auto and Android Automotive.