Understanding types of traps, and confidence ratings
Part of getting the most out of Trapster is understanding the different trap types and confidence levels that we use on the web and in the mobile applications. We've created a system that uses various icons and colors to denote different trap types, ie. red light cameras, and their associated user confidence level, so that you can visually add and identify the right traps. Given that Trapster's application is only as good as the data that our community members (that's you) provide us, we think its important to dissect all the different trap types. At the end of the day we want you to feel confident that you're adding the right trap to the right location, or getting the most accurate speed trap notifications. If you have any questions or comments related to speed trap types or confidence levels, we welcome your feedback in the comments.Confidence Levels
Green Trap Icons: Traps with a green icon indicate that the particular trap has been reported, but it has not been verified. The green color indicates a low confidence level because it has yet to be voted on, or confirmed, by users. Once a user votes using the "Thumbs Up" icon (in mobile applications this is sometimes a Yes or No option) on the Trapster Trapmap, or via a mobile application, the color will change.
Yellow Trap Icons: Traps with a yellow icon indicate that the trap in question has been been verified by another user. Once another user takes an action to vote their approval on a green trap, the trap icon will change from green to yellow. When you see yellow traps in Trapster, you can have a little more confidence that these are accurate trap locations. Should you agree or disagree, make sure to add your vote by rating the trap yourself.
Red Trap Icons: This is the highest level of confidence because more users have voted to approve this particular trap. Traps with a red icon indicate the majority of Trapster users agree that this is a legitimate trap. Of course, your vote matters too, so whether you agree or disagree, make sure to add your vote.
Gray Trap Icons: Traps with a gray icon indicate the majority of Trapster users do not believe that this is an accurately reported trap. Since most of the votes are negative, gray traps have a very low confidence level, and though they remain in the system, you won't have to worry about receiving mobile notifications for them.
Live Police Trap
Live Police Traps
indicate an active sighting of a police speed trap, or a police
vehicle currently observing traffic. Examples of an accurately
reported live police trap include police with a radar or laser trap
set up, a motorcycle cop with a radar gun, an officer parked on a
freeway or on-ramp, or a cruiser hiding near a stop sign to catch
vehicles not coming to a complete stop.
Live Police Traps automatically expire after one hour, unless other
users confirm the live police trap with a positive vote. When
reporting a Live Police Trap just remember that the trap should be a
live speed trap, so it needs to be actually in progress, and
potentially a threat to other drivers.
Police Often Hide Here
Do you know where
the cops often camp out in your hometown, neighborhood, or metro area?
You can use this knowledge and add Police Often Hide Here traps to the
Trapmap on the web or from your phone to alert other drivers just
passing through.
We tend to see Trapster users reporting hiding spots in abundance, so
before you add a new trap, check your surrounding area on the Trapmap
for existing hiding spots. You can then add your vote of approval to
the traps you believe are frequent hiding spots.
Confirmed hiding spots (ie. Police Often Hide Here traps) will remain
permanently reported on the Trapmap, unless they are voted down by a
majority of users who disagree with the reported trap.
Red Light Camera
We've all come to loathe red light cameras, you know those cameras that sit alongside tricky stop lights and capture photos of us as we accidentally (hopefully) run a red light. These are the worst, because they typically come with a hefty fine and there's very little we, as citizens, can do to dispute them.
But please be careful not to confuse regular traffic surveillance cameras, found at almost every intersection in metro areas, with actual photoenforcment red light cameras that issue violations. The ones that issue violations have a large box that is the flasher unit. Those are valid Trapster entries. The small ones that are about the size of a big zucchini are not valid Trapster entries.
Red Light Camera traps will remain on the Trapmap unless a majority of users vote their disapproval on any given trap. Of course we'd love it if you reported and voted on all red light cameras in your area (you can use Street View in the Trapmap to confirm). By doing so, you'll help other Trapster users avoid these expensive traffic tickets.
Speed Camera
If you think red light
cameras are obnoxious, then you'll probably want to be aware of the
older and nastier cousin, the speed camera. These fixed photo
enforcement speed cameras are typically mounted on poles and monitor
your speed as you cruise on the freeway, speedway, or highway. That's
right, these little buggers are capturing your speed and will cost you
a pricey ticket should you exceed the speeding limit by 10 mph or
more.
Unfortunately, more and more speed cameras are being installed across
the globe (right now they're popular in Europe but they're starting to
show up stateside), so make sure to use Trapster to receive audio
alerts, and return the favor by identifying and reporting these
cameras when you see them on the road.
Just like the rest of fixed traps, Speed Camera traps will remain on
the Trapmap unless a majority of users vote their disapproval. Speed
cameras are certainly not a friend to drivers, so we hope you'll take
the time to add and vote on these devilish traps.
Mobile Speed Camera
Now this is
getting sneaky! Mobile speed cameras are just like speed cameras, but
they travel inside moving vans. These vans typically park on the side
of the road to capture moving violations in photo form as motorists
drive by.
Though not as prevalent as other speed traps, mobile speed vans are
becoming more common, with usage already in the United States,
Australia, and United Kingdom.
So if you spot one of these sneaky vehicles trying to monitor speeding
traffic on your commute, use the Trapmap and select Mobile Speed
Camera as your trap type. Of course, you can also vote your approval
or disapproval on existing traps in the system.
Since these vans are mobile, and we work hard to keep information
accurate and current, Mobile Speed Camera traps are live in the system
for 2 hours after the last confirmed report.
Combo Camera
Combo cameras are
exactly what they claim to be: combined red light and speed photo
enforcement cameras. As if either camera wasn't potent enough alone,
right?
It follows then that these combo cameras will nab you for both running
a red light and speeding while doing so. This makes it pretty futile
to speed up when driving through intersections, especially if you see
that unfortunate flash go off.
Trapster treats Combo Camera traps like most of the others, so
reported traps will remain on the Trapmap unless voted down by other
users. As always, you can add Combo Camera traps from the web or your
mobile application, and vote your approval or disapproval as well.
We know keeping track of all the different trap types is tricky, but
we hope we can help you distinguish between a red light camera, speed
camera, and combo camera, so you can add them faster and receive more
accurate alerts.
Checkpoint
Live police
checkpoints include sobriety (D.U.I. or D.W.I) checkpoints,
roadblocks, and police checkpoints.
During holiday weekends, checkpoints are pretty common and can cause
huge traffic jams and frustration, not to mention driver anxiety.
Trapster can help you avoid these time consuming checkpoints, and get
you to your destination with more time to enjoy your holiday.
Checkpoint point traps remain live - and update you via audio alerts -
until they expire 6 hours after the last confirmed vote of approval.
Creative Commons photos from Flickr: live police photo from gdoolittle, police hiding spot photo from unprose, red light camera photo from functoruser, speed camera photo from DG
Jones, and police checkpoint photo from dietrich
Note:
Though all functions are available from this Web site, Trapster® is primarily a mobile phone application. Before you can start entering traps, from the site or your mobile phone, you must join the Trapster® community. You can do that now by clicking here. Questions? Please feel free to contact us