It was only a few days ago that we learned that Google Maps would finally show speed limits during navigation, which is a basic feature available on plenty of other competing apps, including Google’s Waze. The same report revealed that speed camera warnings and notifications, a feature that Waze users love, will also be available in Google Maps — soon enough Google confirmed the feature. But it looks like that’s not the only Waze feature coming over to Google Maps, not that we’re surprised. After all, previous leaks did say that Google was working on introducing the incidents reports feature that makes Waze so great.
A user on Reddit shared the following screenshot that shows a new Google Maps user interface element that lets you add a report about your traffic experience. Presumably, you’d press the “+” icon to add these reports.
Two types of incidents are featured in the menu, including crashes and speed traps. As you can see in the screenshot, the speed limit icon is also present in the lower left corner of the navigation window.
Support for crowdsourced incident reports is precisely why Waze is so popular with drivers. The app lets you quickly notify other users about what’s happening on the road, which can make driving even more enjoyable. You get notifications about accidents, police sightings, speed traps, roadblocks, and road closures, and Waze can identify alternate routes to bypass heavy traffic when possible.
Just because a Google Maps user spotted the feature in action doesn’t mean it’s rolling out soon to the stable version of Google Maps for Android. But given that it’s not the first time we see the incident reports UI in Google Maps, the Waze-like feature should be rolling out to the stable version of Maps in the not too distant future.
