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The ongoing battle between speeders and cops has recently entered the Web 2.0 Internet age. A new Internet start-up has been in the news lately called Trapster. It's Facebook meets radar detection.

Trapster is a user-generated database of known speed traps throughout the country, as well as red light cameras and other traffic enforcement techniques. This is not a new concept for a website. What they do differently is notify a user via text message whenever they get near a speed trap using cell phone GPS.

Since the invention of radar guns, cops and speeders have been playing a cat and mouse game, trying to continually outsmart each other. Radar detectors led to speed measuring technology that couldn't be detected by a radar detector. The volume of speeders led to the development of speed detecting cameras. Red light runners spurred the development of red light cameras.

So, how can cops fight back against Trapster?

They can start by signing up for the service themselves. This way they will have all the information that clever motorists have as well.

Check out the map that Trapster features and find out where people have reported seeing cops hiding. Adapt. Find new places to hide.

Cops can also fill it with false information. Strategically find locations on a map where you can report that cops like to sit and place your cops nearby, preferably before the spot so that they won't have already slowed down. Even if you don't have a cop stationed nearby, it will have the knock on effect of making people slow down because they think there's a speed trap.

Cities could also fill it with false reports of red light camera locations. That way, people will be more likely to heed red lights if their phone tells them there's a red light camera there. If you're using a mobile speed camera system, then vary it's location every couple of days so the Trapster report is always outdated.

The key is to be smarter than the speeder. With careful planning a municipality can use a nuisance like Trapster to their own traffic safety ends. Eventually the data from services like Trapster will become so unreliable that people will stop using the service or develop other techniques to evade police radar. The cat and mouse game will surely continue.