Waze now alerts users to railroad crossings

Waze now gives a heads up when drivers approach a highway-railroad intersections, like where car traffic meets KTMB tracks. — ART CHEN/The Star

Waze is introducing an alert to warn users when approaching a railroad crossing.

The Railroad Crossing feature works by displaying a banner in the Waze app highlighting the crossing and encourages the driver to approach with caution.

It used mapping data, including from local Waze map editors, to track highway-railroad intersections.

Waze public sector partnerships head Dani Simons said the feature was a result of a cross-industry, cross-sector collaboration, both within Waze and the community.

“This feature exemplifies Waze’s commitment to building for its Driving app, being the first to implement features and emphasises our focus on safety,” he said, in a press release.

He added that as more Waze users were making a return to the road following the Covid-19 outbreak, the feature would help put drivers’ safety first by highlighting the potential risks associated with driving over railroad crossings.

The feature was available in the latest version of the app for Android or iOS.

In addition to Malaysia, the feature is also available in Indonesia, the Philippines, the United Kingdoms, Italy, Israel, Brazil, Colombia, Belgium, Poland, Hungary, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, New Zealand, Netherlands and Ireland.