Safety should be of the utmost priority when operating a vehicle, and this should extend to the navigation apps we use to get us from point A to point B. It’s good news then, that Waze has just introduced a new feature which it’s rolling out across five major cities here in the U.S. with their latest app update, that alerts drivers when they’re approaching a dangerous intersection so they know to be extra cautious when driving through it. The update should be live as of today and if you live in either L.A., San Francisco, New York City, Boston, or Washington DC the alert feature will be supported.
With the alert feature only being available in those five cities listed above, it’s a little bit limiting at the moment but there’s always the possibility that Waze could roll this feature out to other larger cities as well. Utilizing official data from the supported cities in addition to Waze’ own collected traffic data from users in those locations, they were able to set the app to present users with an alert that pops up on top of your current navigation screen when nearing an intersection which has been designated as having a higher risk of accidents. This isn’t just limited to vehicle-related dangers either though and also incorporates collisions that could include cyclists and pedestrians too.
Alongside the new alert feature, Waze has also added a feature in for drivers in Sao Paulo, Brazil to help avoid the recently implemented license plate restriction laws. For those who are unaware of what these restrictions are, Sao Paulo has recently put in place a regulation that restricts drivers from being on the road in certain areas of the city on specific days based on the ending numbers on their license plate. This was put in place by the city to attempt to curb rush-hour traffic, but because Waze didn’t previously account for these newly added driving regulations people would end up wandering into these areas. Waze now alerts drivers in Sao Paulo when they’re approaching one of these restricted driving areas and will act accordingly to reroute them.
