How Google Maps’ new feature could save you from a speeding ticket
Drive safely
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If you useGoogle Mapsto help you navigate while driving, you may have noticed a rather useful feature has been missing all these years: speed limit warnings and radar location notifications that let you know when you’re approaching a speed camera.
Now, after running tests in the US,Google’s rolling out speed limit warnings to the popular navigation app in 40 countries.
The rollout will be coming toGoogle Mapson both Android and iOS devices, as Google confirmed toTechCrunch. Now speed limit signs will appear in the bottom corner of the Maps display, while icons indicating the presence of speed cameras will appear on the roads themselves.
About time
The introduction of speed limit warnings to Google Maps has been a long time coming, especially when you consider that Google alreadybrought the feature to navigation app Wazein 2016.
The new feature will likely make Maps a more realistic competitor to navigation apps andstandalone GPS systemsfrom the likes ofGarminand TomTom.
According toEngadget, speed limit warnings will be available in the following countries: “Australia, Brazil, US, Canada, UK, India, Mexico, Russia, Japan, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, 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, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe”.
The rollout of course doesn’t include countries where apps that disclose the location of speed enforcement equipment is illegal, like France, Switzerland, and Germany. In France, for example, “police are allowed to check your mobile phone for illegal apps and can levy steep fines and even confiscate your vehicle if they find them”.
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So, best to just keep an eye on your speed the old fashioned way if you’re planning a road trip through Western Europe.
Via Engadget
Olivia was previously TechRadar’s Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she’s a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She’s previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.
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