Carlos Mencia is going to be so envious of that skit... he'll probably hire the writers.

It's over the top and funny, but at the core there is a good idea - just a very fine line to walk in implementation. My GPS can avoid toll roads, seasonal roads, bridges, ferries, etc. as well as my own randomly selected areas. There is certainly value in more information for creating route filters - hopefully based on non-discriminatory data, though.

"Help us out here" is the opinion?

I hate the bold.

The bold is a good idea, if it's not required on every post. Don't force it!

That wouldn't be racist. Being racist would be assuming that the crime level is high because of a particular race. I'd love to see this put into GPS systems.

It's not america without racism!

Seems like a pretty good idea to me. If there is an area where crime is high and it's very likely I'm going to get car jacked or worse, I would like to avoid it happening, weather the perpatrators are, black, white, or japanesse school girls.

kharmaghost, the bold is only a good idea

if you're a nazi.

bold sucks.

What is racist about crime? Do you think that the only neighborhoods that you should stay out of are black ghettos? Please don't forget about all the other lazy, uneducated, steal-your-iPod-and-rape-all-your-white-women minorities.

(joke)

I don't see anything wrong with it at all. If I'm driving from A to B and I can avoid a neighborhood with known high-crime than I'm all for it.

However, this could open up a liability if it redirects you through some route and you do end up getting shot.

Meh, just throw a disclaimer on it.

And how would you feel if your neighbourhood is marked as "ghetto" on one of those devices?

Even if it isn't racist as it won't say a neigbourhood is dangerous beacause of a certain minority that lives there; it'll still say that the people that live there are potentially dangerous which will be taken as an insult by most people living there.

Avoiding crime-ridden areas is about as racist as stopping illegal immigration.

The only people who think that way are the bleeding heart liberals. You don't see them strolling through the bad parts of town at 2am either.

I think I'd rather be directed TOWARD the Japanese school girl areas.

that jus seem like such a chappelle show skit. :-)

Koy: no one would be saying that the people in that area are necessarily bad, just that the crime rate is higher than in other areas. Maybe they import their criminals?

release date and price?

Even if it isn't racist as it won't say a neigbourhood is dangerous beacause of a certain minority that lives there; it'll still say that the people that live there are potentially dangerous which will be taken as an insult by most people living there.

So... those people can move. Perfect example of ignoring a potentially good idea just to save some tiny amount of people's "feelings."

One thing I can see beinga stumbling block to this type of thing is businesses that fall on taht route. For example, if you had a high volume gas station on a main road in a bad neighborhood, and suddenly GPSs were routing people around you, I woudl think you'd fight it to keep business.

Kinda mean, but if you live in a bad neiborhood it will save you a few times...
"now entering...gangsta filled area....Turn AROUND"

It won't hurt people's feelings in bad neighborhoods because they can't afford GPS, and would have no idea.

On a second note, it would be nice to offer this for gangs:

If your a crypt, you can have a warning saying that you're entering bloods territory.

A bad/high crime neighborhood is not, in and of itself, an indication of a high concentration of a particular racial grouping.

If you find your neighborhood on the "avoid" list, and coicidentally you find that there is a large amount of a single race, one may draw some conclusions. If that's the case, maybe it's time to take a look at where you live and perhaps the reason people draw conclusions.

Anything that keeps those crackers from driving through my hood as alright by me.

I kid, i kid!

I don't think it is ever discriminatory when the basis is purely factual... i.e. high crime rates. It is not as if the GPS system is featuring an option to only take you through white neighborhoods.

I haven't seen the video, but from the comments it doesn't seem to explicitly discriminate based on the minorities in the area, but on high crime rates.

In Florida (miami specifically) many years ago they implemented road signs to let tourists know which areas aren't as safe to travel to for tourists. I'm sure they somehow thinly veiled any possibly offensive connotations with clever wording.

The only problem I can think of is do you let the user define how high is too high a crime rate? Can you image a GPS unit that tries to route you totally around the city of New York...on the other hand maybe that's not such a bad idea...keep the tourons out.

If "High-Crime-Area" is a race, then yeah, this is racist. Except that "High-Crime-Area" is not a race, it's a statistic, a fact, applied to a geographical area.

What a splendid example of guilt-ridden PC liberal worrying.

Funny thing is, the throngs of drug-addicted white suburbanite kids could use this feature as the inverse of what it's intended for: if they're trying to score some crack, look for the high-crime areas on the map. Nice.

You don't base the information on race, you base it on crime statistics, which are public knowledge for the most part.

Yes, we should have that in a GPS unit. Otherwise, suddenly you get dropped off the freeway three stops too early becaus etechnically it's closer, but oh, look at all the happy hobos walking the streets with shopping carts, and my word, you just interuppted that dice game on the corner.

There are bad neigh borhoods out there. Take Detroit, which I love to death, I will not drive through some parts unless I get lost late at night. Shit happens. My GPS should take me on a safe route from point A to point B.

Hell, I lived in Washington D.C. for two years, spent a lot of time at the club NATION, which was within a few miles of the capital building (you could see it from the roof deck) but getting there was kinda creepy. It was in a bad neighborhood and surrounded by really terrible areas of the city. It was torn down for the new ballpark, in case anyone from the area wants to know exactly where. One wrong turn and yer in ghetto city.

Again, it's not racist, it's smart. And for those who end up living in the 'bad' areas, how bout they start throwing out the bad apples making it such? Self respect from the inhabitants is the first step towards cleaning up any area.

You're gonna need one if you plan to camp out for PS3.

Do people actually drive out of their way to avoid "high crime areas"? That's ridiculous. I'd rather have a GPS system that routes me around high traffic areas.

"Being racist would be assuming that the crime level is high because of a particular race."

Nope. Thats just being politically incorrect. Being racist would be assuming that the crime level is high because of a particular race, with no basis in fact. If the crime rate is higher in a particular area, and that area is predominantly occupied by a partiicular race, how is it racist to note the connection??

Nice, "Help us out here." from Charlie "White". LOL. However Homer once said "It's funny because its true!"

The guy who wrote this article is named Charlie White. Gotta love puns.

bigTrue there was a relevant article in the WSJ about an attempt to clean up a neighborhood and the resistance to it out in the Tenderloin district of SF.

In case you can't read it since the website is subscription only, essentially this woman moved into the neighborhood and wanted to make it prettier by planting palm trees and the other residents went insane and went so far as putting up wanted posters.

Wow, why is it when somebody worries about possibly offending some race, they're suddenly a PC bleeding heart liberal. As if conservatives are somehow free from the shackles of caring about and catering to people who aren't white.

Honestly. Do you think we got a black woman secretary of state by chance?

The problem with this is that "high crime" areas generally tend to be in areas where "working class" people live. Racist? Not necessarily. Classist? Assuredly.

It's the question itself that's suspect: it wasn't 'should GPS's use crime statistics' or 'should GPS's stay away from areas with lots of minorities', it was a weird mixing of the two questions when doing so made no sense. When you ask whether using crime statistics is racist, you've already made assumptions about race and crime in the first place. So, to answer your question, yes.

But do keep in mind: guns don't kill people; dangerous minorities do.

Assuming it is done by crime statistics... who cares!?

If people don't like that their neighborhood is considered high crime, they should do something about it or move. Until then, I prefer to avoid getting mugged and shot (whether it be by a red, yellow, black, or white person).

Spatuladeity: If you want to know why we have a black woman Secretary of State, take a look at her credentials.

Sadly enough, the people in the "ghetto" WILL have the newest GPS systems in their cars. My wife is a teacher in a ghetto school. >95% of her students are on free lunch/welfare etc. yet they all have cell phones and iPods. They can't afford to buy their own pencils for class, but they can buy new spinners for their wheels. Don't let the fact they are poor fool you into thinking they won't have expensive gadgets.

There are plenty of reasons you might choose to avoid certain routes. There are some roads in my area that are especially accident-prone and very unpleasant to drive on. I'd like a GPS that knew I didn't like to drive on them.

Or, say, you want to avoid driving past the place where your crazy ex lives now.

The Truth is that high crime area's ARE high crime areas BECAUSE of a particular race. That is just the way it is. Individually, there are good and bad in all races,but collectively, some are more prone to uncivilized behavior than others. That is just the plain truth, it's not racism at all. Racism is hating someone because of their color. Simply stating the truth is not racism at all. This country is too damn worried about what everyone else thinks and people need to start speaking their minds and not worrying about upsetting people who have nothing better to do than get upset.

I drive current-model Lexus with Nav, and it (the Nav system) allows you to set up to 16 (I think) locations to avoid. I haven't tried it, but I assume that when you populate that info, the Nav system will plot around such locations.

What is safe for some may not be safe for others. Many white neighborhoods are prejudice and not safe for minorities both from the residents and police that do not want others in their neighborhood. What is safe for some may not be safe for others.