Alphabet is constantly changing its signature mapping technology, Google Maps. The biggest news from 2019 was Google’s cannibalization of a feature previously only found on Waze: Crowdsourced road diversions. (It’s worth noting that Waze was bought by Alphabet Inc.’s Google in 2013 for just under $1 billion).
And here’s a twist: Some officers seem to even like the idea of a speed-trap reporting function. As Sergeant Kerry Bates, a traffic cop in Edmonton, Canada, told the National Post in March: “If it [Google Maps] slows people down and they know it’s there, that’s good,” he said. “It’s fine. It does the trick.”
Waze still has a few tricks all its own: The app allows users to add custom “police” reports, including DUI checkpoints. Drivers are also alerted to the presence of fixed cameras. When approaching a speed radar camera, an automated voice pipes up with: “speed camera ahead.” For more helpful tools, see these hands-free driving devices you need in your car now.
23 car gadgets that make driving safer.
It’s also helpful to know the best practices for winter driving.
