Apple agrees to ban DUI checkpoint apps

Senate Democrats praised Apple on Thursday for agreeing to ban new applications from its App Store that help drunk drivers evade police.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) wrote to Apple, Research In Motion and Google in March asking them to ban the applications, which inform users of the location of police drunk driving checkpoints. 

RIM complied immediately but Apple and Google initially balked. Schumer continued to press the issue at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month, with both Apple and Google stating they remove apps that violate the law.

This week Apple indicated it will review the existing DUI checkpoint apps and ban any similar apps from the store in the future. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I commend Apple Inc. for taking this important first step toward making our roads and neighborhoods safer from drunk drivers,” Reid said.

“However, I strongly encourage Apple to take the next responsible step of removing all applications that allow unsafe drivers to evade police checkpoints."

Apple updated its App Store Review Guidelines on Wednesday, warning it will reject apps that encourage drunk driving or contain DUI checkpoint data not published by law enforcement agencies.

Some of the apps rely on publicly available information, while others allow users to input checkpoints for themselves to warn other drivers.

“Apple has done the right thing in barring new DUI applications, but this victory will remain only half-won until the existing apps are removed from the store,” Schumer said.

“This is about eliminating tools that people currently have to avoid drunk driving checkpoints, and leaving these dangerous apps online would be a major and dangerous loophole.”

Law enforcement agencies across the nation have voiced concern over the products, according to the senators, who argue that the apps have no other purpose than to enable drunk driving. They note more than 10,000 Americans die in drunk driving crashes every year.

“The bottom line is that DWI Checkpoint Apps empower drunk drivers to break the law and, as we know all too well in New Mexico, the consequences can be deadly,” Udall said.

"The new Apple policy is progress, and I look forward to their complete removal of the apps. It's the responsible thing to do."

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