Google Maps is finally bringing its controversial speed trap feature to users in the UK and beyond. The feature, which has been a staple of the crowdsourced Google-owned Waze navigation app, is now making its way to the main platform.
The feature, which entered testing within Google Maps back in January, is now ready for prime time, Google has confirmed. The feature also shows users speed limits, as well as mobile speed cameras.
Speed limits will appear in the bottom corner of the Google Maps apps, while the speed traps and cameras will appear along the route when using turn by turn navigation.
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The feature is rolling out on both iOS and Android apps simultaneously, according to the reports on Wednesday. Previously they had only been available in a few select territories.
The supported countries now include (via TechCrunch): Australia, Brazil, U.S., Canada, U.K., 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 might bring more Waze users into the Google Maps fold, while it’s also likely to suit those Google Maps users who are less inclined to abide by Waze’s somewhat less refined interface and knack of changing the route dynamically depending on traffic conditions.
For those who’re reliant on those crowdsourced updates from fellow drivers, Waze is probably still the way to go because it will tell users of cars sitting in the hard shoulder, debris in the road, police sitting in wait, or road closures.
Are you a Waze loyalist who’ll now be heading over to Google Maps? Or are you Waze for life regardless of how many features Google imports? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.