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Android Auto adds a crucial feature to improve road safety for US drivers
- Android Auto users in the US can now report accidents, traffic, and other road hazards directly through their car screens.
- This highly requested feature was previously only available through the Google Maps mobile app.
After years of requests, Google Maps on Android Auto has finally added a much-anticipated feature: the ability to report road incidents like accidents, traffic jams, and speed traps in real time. Until now, Android Auto users in the US had been left without this function despite it being available on Waze (also owned by Google). Even though you could report incidents on the Google Maps phone app, doing that while driving was obviously unsafe, which meant most drivers didn’t bother.
Incident reporting was first introduced in Google Maps for mobile devices a few years ago, but it remained exclusive to phones. Oddly, while Google Maps on Apple CarPlay received this feature earlier this year, Android Auto users were left out. This changed briefly in July when Google rolled out the feature to Android Auto as well — but only in India.
In recent days, reports from users, including a Reddit thread, confirmed that incident reporting is now live on Android Auto’s Google Maps app in the US. 9to5Google has also reported that the feature is indeed rolling out more widely.
There should now be a new triangle-shaped hazard button that sits right below the compass in Google Maps on your car’s display. Tapping it will let you report various issues, such as traffic jams, lane closures, crashes, and even speed traps. You can also receive prompts along your route, asking you to confirm if these reported issues are still there.
However, there’s a catch. This new button might not show up if your Android Auto layout doesn’t give Google Maps enough screen space. 9to5Google noted that the hazard button was visible with a 105 DPI display using AAWireless but disappeared when the DPI was bumped up to 110, suggesting that layout settings or screen size might affect its availability.
Nevertheless, for Android Auto users who have been waiting for this feature, it’s a big step forward. So, check your car’s screen to see if you can see the new button, and let us know in the comments below.