Driving on unfamiliar roads can be risky, especially if they have a history of accidents. Waze now offers a new feature designed to mitigate this risk by alerting drivers about crash-prone areas.
Waze, the Google-owned navigation app, recently launched “crash-history alerts” to improve driver safety. According to Waze, “Every day, almost 3,700 people are sadly killed globally in crashes involving cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks or pedestrians.” With accident reports coming in approximately every two seconds from its global community, Waze recognized the need for proactive alerts.
A crash history alert on Waze.
Leveraging community-reported data and AI technology, Waze’s new feature identifies stretches of road with a significant history of accidents. When a driver’s route includes such a road, Waze will display an alert like “History of crashes — next 1 mile” before they reach the area. A blue bar above the alert visually indicates proximity to the hazard zone, gradually receding as the driver approaches.
This feature helps raise driver awareness without providing excessive detail about the specific nature of the past incidents. The general warning encourages increased vigilance, potentially preventing accidents. To minimize distractions, Waze has thoughtfully designed the feature to avoid repeated alerts for frequently traveled routes.
The new crash-history alerts feature was released on Tuesday. To benefit from this enhanced safety feature, ensure your Waze app is updated to the latest version.
