After almost six years after Google acquired the Waze navigation application for $966 million, it finally appears that Google Maps has decided to include some of the exclusive functions that stood out in Waze on its newest Google Maps update, including the speed limit notice and the ability to locate speed cameras in more than 40 countries in the world.
The function to see speed limit and speed traps have begun to be available in version 10.17.0 of Google Maps, so to enjoy this new Google maps update, make sure that there is an equal or higher edition installed on your device. Some users have already experienced using the feature it in its early stages last January and its latter stage in March and now Google had confirmed that the update will see a wider deployment starting this June.
The countries that can use the newest Google Maps Update are Australia, Brazil, Spain, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Mexico, Russia, Japan, Andorra, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.
The speed limit appears in the lower corner of the application, while the speed cameras appear as icons on the roads. When it comes to a fixed radar, the application shows an orange icon, while if it is a mobile radar, its color will be blue. The application is said to allow users to see the exact distance of a speed camera, and If you have voice prompts enabled, the application will warn you out loud. Otherwise, a notification will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Google Maps will use a combination of authorized sources along with comments and reports from users of the application to locate the speed cameras. And although this Google Maps feature update is available for both iOS and Android, Only Android users can report the location of the radars. These reports will appear on the map in a matter of minutes, which will help nearby drivers better plan and navigate their route, and users can also check reports with a quick voting tool to help ensure accuracy.
While this Google Maps update is a great news for drivers around the world, authorities are questioning if it's really necessary. Earlier this year, a letter sent by the NYPD to Google about Waze alerts for speed radars caught the attention of media and left people questioning if this feature is a threat.
That letter said that sharing information about speed cameras and checkpoints with users of the application is irresponsible, since it only help drivers who have a driving problem, drivers who are intoxicated and even criminals to evade the radars, thus encouraging reckless driving and posing a threat that law enforcers may not catch the criminals and violators.
Google stands by their decision though and believes that informing drivers about the following speed traps is more good than bad as drivers will be more careful and make safer decisions when they are on the road.
