Having proven that you can, in fact, blast across an entire state in a bright orange supercar without getting a ticket thanks to Waze, a Google-owned navigation app, what more need we say? Well, a few things, actually—Waze has been targeted by police departments that aren't too pleased about users' abilities to tag police-car locations for other Wazers, citing officer safety among their reasons. That police departments have put Wazein their cross hairs may have kept the cop-spotting tool in headlines, but Waze isn't the only crowdsourcing app capable of dehydrating Johnny Law's revenue stream. Here are three other useful offerings, and it's no coincidence that two come from established radar-detector companies.
Escort Live
Main Function: Speed-trap and red-light-camera alerts. Escort preloads known radar and red-light-camera locations, and the crowd handles the rest. Basic navigation is included, but a premium-access plan brings real-time alerts, speed-limit info, and integration with Escort radar-detector units.
What It Costs: $4.99 via Google Play and iTunes stores (premium access, $49.99 a year).
Cobra iRadar
Main Function: As with Escort Live, Cobra's iRadar is geared toward saving you from friendly roadside chats with smokey—or from cold, impersonal, mailed tickets from camera smokeys. It can link up with a Cobra detector to transform your mobile device into a display for the unit's alerts and warnings, while simultaneously handling basic navigation functions.
What It Costs: Free via Google Play and iTunes stores.
Garmin U.S.A.
Main Function: Like Waze, Garmin's smartphone app is a navigation tool first and foremost. Which makes sense, considering that Garmin has always been associated with top-flight global-positioning-system receivers. But this app isn't a one-trick pony: Users can submit speed-trap and red-light-camera locations, painting a useful picture entitled "Stuff to Watch Out For."
What It Costs: $49.99 via iTunes store.
From: Car and Driver
Alexander Stoklosa has been editing, writing, and reviewing cars for Car and Driver since 2010. Occasionally, he takes a subpar photograph or whips together a cheesy illustration, to the chagrin of C/D’s art staff. More often he can be found taking needlessly contrarian positions in inter-office car debates.
