Mikey Campbell
Apple is looking to beef up its Maps service with new crowdsourced information that alerts users to accidents, speed check and road hazards.
A new feature in the latest iOS 14.5 beta release allows the report of three types of "incidents" that will appear on the screens of other Maps users traveling through a defined area, reports MacRumors.
Accident reporting went live for beta testers this week, with Siri making an announcement highlighting the feature when embarking on a new route.
Currently, the crowdsourced data is limited to accidents, hazards and speed checks. Swiping up on the Maps details pane displays a reporting interface, from which users can select one of the three incident types. Selecting an option automatically records a device's location and adds the information to Maps' servers.
Alternatively, users can say, "Hey Siri, there's an accident." Whether the virtual assistant can also be pinged for road hazards or speed checks was left unreported.
The feature is also available via Apple's CarPlay interface.
Apple has not detailed how the system works, but it is presumed to be similar to identical crowdsourced reporting functionality already in use by services like Waze. That system relies on multiple reports and server-side aggregation, and incentivizes submissions with a points system. Waze supports a variety of notices including accidents, traffic, road closures, police, construction and more.
Apple is expected to release iOS 14.5 this spring with a host of new capabilities, the most prominent of which being App Tracking Transparency.
Charles Martin
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Sponsored Content
Malcolm Owen
23 Comments
Funny how it was a “feature” according to people here that it didn’t allow you to make reports, see user reported speed checkpoints etc. when I mentioned once that it was a glaring omission in the app. Will go a long way to closing the gap with GMaps.
@bulk001
This site isn’t one unified mind, it’s full of tons of different people with different ideas.
Excellent addition. Now, I still want the ability to add a stop that isn’t just restaurants and gas stations, etc.
Great. Now do speed limit alerts, add “via” to route, and non-route speed limit badge.
It’s crazy if they’re actually calling them “accidents” as opposed to “crashes” or “collisions”. Almost all collisions are due to someone’s fault, and could have been prevented.