Trapster is a mobile phone application that acts as a reporting system for traps such as red light cameras, speed cameras, RBT units, mobile radar stations, defect stations, road accidents, construction zones and much more. It relies on users to report locations as they drive past. The reports are uploaded to a server on the internet and pushed to mobile phone users logged in to the service. As more users report the same location the colour of the icon changes from green to yellow and finally red indicating a confirmed warning.
The application is free and has support for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, a range of Nokia phones, Palm WebOS phones, Windows Mobile phones and it can even warn you via text messages. Some of the services are geared more towards the North American market but I have tested it in Sydney and there are plenty of warnings posted.
At the time of writing the application has 3.5 million users and is growing at a rate of 30,000 a day. The traps reported globally come to 1.3 million with around 7,000 added daily. These figures are sure to grow as is the popularity of this neat application. My only concern is that the reporting system is used while driving which can be dangerous. Remember what Montgomery taught us kids. Monotask or get flung at. Enjoy and stay safe.