Google has upgraded its navigation and mapping app Waze to help for drivers to easier steer around tricky intersections.
The setting to bypass difficult intersections has been launched in Los Angeles on Friday, June 17. Los Angles City has one of the largest communities of Waze users. According to estimations, around 10 percent of L.A. drivers use the application.
According to Gizmodo, the city of Los Angles works closely with app developers in order to help provide drivers with data via LA's open-data portal. Peter Marx, the city's Chief Technology Officer, told the publication that the city provided the locations of signalized intersections to Waze, in an aim to relieve congestion and driving stress in Los Angeles.
According to Vanguard Tribune, Waze will help drivers to solve the left-hand turns that can be a safety hazard especially in the absence of traffic light. The spokeswoman for Waze, Julie Mossler, said that the upgraded app will help avoiding taking additional longer routes.
The drivers in Los Angeles City and in additional 18 countries will benefit of the new Waze upgrade. Among these countries are included Italy, France, Netherlands, Columbia and Brazil, among others.
Google's navigation app Waze used to insist on making left turns on busy streets with no signal to stop traffic. Waze calls these types of situations "difficult intersections." However, the new feature will become the default setting on the app in order to help drivers avoid these difficult intersections.
Now drivers will be given an alternative route, like using a series of right turns or going to the closest signal instead, to make turning left easier. Not every single difficult intersection can be avoided and in some cases this might add travel time. If drivers would rather prefer to make their way across a multi-lane road, they can also disable the new feature.
