Google tries adding traffic lights to Maps on Android

Have you ever wondered how many traffic lights you’ll run into on a cross-town trip? Google Maps might soon show you.

Droid Life reports that Google appears to be testing traffic light icons in Google Maps on Android devices. They’ll appear whether you’re browsing or navigating, and are unsurprisingly enlarged while you’re driving in order to keep your eyes on the road. The lights don’t appear to affect audio cues or routing, though, so don’t expect to hear “turn left at the next light” if the icons appear on your phone.

“To help people stay better informed on the road, we’re testing a Google Maps feature on Android that shows the location of traffic lights in select cities across the US,” a Google spokesperson told Android Authority. New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago are among the first cities to show the traffic lights feature. Google also says it plans to expand the feature to more cities over time.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Apple Maps started visualizing traffic lights during navigation roughly a year ago, and Siri will tailor its instructions based on the lights ahead. Not that this is a bad thing — the more mapping apps incorporate traffic lights, the easier it is for everyone to make informed choices about their routes.

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