Apple Maps Will Bring In Accident and Speed Trap to New Updates

Wire

Apple Maps Will Bring In Accident and Speed Trap to New Updates

Driving can bring us to our destination but it can also bring us to some expected and unexpected consequences. By unexpected consequences, it means we would have chances to encounter any accidents or at least, speeding at a speed trap area. Thanks to technology, we have apps such as Waze to aid us in terms of navigation.

However, Waze might have a new rival. In iOS 14.5 beta, Apple Maps is going to add a new Apple Maps feature that lets you report accidents, hazards, and speed checks along your route when getting directions.

As you put your address, you can select a route you’re comfortable with and then click ‘Go’. Siri will let you know that you can report accidents or hazards that you encounter along the journey.

If you swipe up on the ‌Apple Maps‌ interface where maps details are available, you can tap on a “Report” button that lets you flag an accident, a hazard, or a speed check, similar to other mapping apps like Waze. Tap automatically flags your location with no confirmation window, so it shouldn’t be used except in a valid situation.

Conveniently enough, you can also just say “Hey Siri, there’s an accident” and Siri will report it to Apple Maps and an accident site will show up in the maps app through crowdsourcing if enough people file the similar reports.

For the time being, it is only available in the United States in a test form. It is still not disclosed yet when it will be available in other countries.

Anyway, ‌Siri‌ will inform you about the new accident reporting functionality the first time that you seek directions after upgrading to iOS 14.5, though the feature was not mentioned prior to that. There is no similar accident reporting features in iOS 14.4.

However based on reports through Reddit, the feature is still not available on iOS 14.5 in the United States. This means if it’s either the server-side issue or it will be seen thoroughly once it leaves the beta stage.

For better or worse, the updates sound promising and it can literally save lives. Perhaps it will be a healthy competitor to Waze as well as providing us more choices for navigation purposes.