Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, has agreed to pull downloadable applications that help users evade sobriety checkpoints and drunk driving citations.
Sens. Harry Reid of Nevada, Charles Schumer of New York, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, and Tom Udall of New Mexico had asked RIM, Apple, and Google to disable or stop selling the apps for BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad, and Android devices, reports USA Today.
An array of high-tech apps provide smartphone users with locations of red-light cameras, speed traps, school zones, and DUI checkpoints.
One of the more popular apps is PhantomAlert, which "gives you audible and visual warnings as you drive, alerting you to approaching traffic enforcement zones in plenty of time to adjust to changing traffic conditions," according to the app's Website.
Apple and Google, which produces Android apps, continue to make the apps available for download. Several of the apps are free. Others carry a subscription of $9.99 a month to $99.99 for a lifetime subscription.