Google is constantly working to improve upon Maps, like by adding a warning if the place that you’re headed will be closed when you arrive. Now it’s been revealed that Google Maps’ next tweak will be to help save lives.
Google is teaming up with the US Department of Transportation to include every railroad crossing in the country in Google Maps. That’s according to The New York Times, who goes on to say that Google is also going to add both audio and visual alerts to the Google Maps apps and its navigation capabilities. There are more than 200,000 rail crossings in the US.
The goal of this partnership is simple: to help reduce accidents involving vehicles and railroads. According to federal statistics, 270 people died and 843 people were injured in rail collisions in 2014.
This sounds like a pretty cool initiative from Google. Distracted driving is still a big deal, and even if you’re just navigating with Maps and not texting while driving, it can still be difficult to pay attention to what’s ahead of you when you’re driving. This new Google Maps features aims to change that, and it’s good to see Google continuing to improve Maps not only with usability features, but with safety features too.