Google-owned mapping and turn-by-turn navigation app Waze is rolling out a feature to users that will help drivers avoid busy (and difficult) intersections – very handy and particularly stress-saving.
Once a problematic intersection has been detected ahead, the app will reroute and give directions around it, but only if the alternative roads are reasonably pleasant and won’t be a big drag on the estimated time of arrival. If there’s no good alternative routes, the app will still direct the driver towards the ‘difficult’ intersection.
While this isn’t much of a problem in a lot of urban areas, this feature was developed with American drivers in mind – particularly those living and commuting within Los Angeles – where large intersections are common and drivers can’t lean on traffic signals to form an orderly flow.
In other areas, sudden power outages or malfunctions can cause traffic lights to go offline and drivers will have to rely on patience, common sense and driver etiquette (or at times brute force) to push through a troublesome intersection. Not always a good experience.
Waze hopes that eventually, these kinds of ‘difficult intersections’ will be averted through the more widespread adoption of this feature to app users around the world, with most drivers being rerouted to solve the traffic problem at said intersection.
For now, however, the feature is seeing a limited pilot release in New Orleans, but should be rolled out globally within months pending a successful trial period.
