Google has been really busy with many new features for Maps, and recently, Android Police noticed that Google Maps has started rolling out a new road traffic feature in the form of Traffic Lights on intersections.
Now, these traffic lights are small, static markers in the middle of an intersection that just tell the driver that a traffic light is coming up. However, there is a catch! These are very small markers and the user has to really zoom in to see them in the first place. They show up when the user browses the Maps while navigating, which, as some users pointed out, can be quite dangerous. The driver will have to zoom in to see those lights on Maps, and this may take away their concentration and focus from the road ahead if they are looking into the map while driving. The chance of accidents can significantly increase if the drivers are not careful enough or if they are cautious about upcoming traffic lights. After all, it does not matter much because when a light comes, they will have to stop, whether they will know about it beforehand or not! It would have been a lot better if Google Maps could give verbal instructions about upcoming traffic lights instead of giving small ticker markers in the maps that are not even visible so clearly.
For now, this update is available for users in the US. Although, it seems to be something new in the US because many users in Japan and New England have mentioned that Google has been showing this feature on Maps in their countries for a long time.
The symbol in Japan is also rotated from what some people have observed, which probably gives a much clearer view in comparison to what Google Maps has launched now. In New England, Stop Signs are also visible in Maps along with traffic lights.
Some Apple users have pointed out that this feature has long been available in Apple Maps, and even some Audis provide this state-of-the-art traffic light navigation feature.
So, it is definitely not new or something novel and people around the world have been using better forms of this feature one way or the other.
This feature is enabled through Google servers and there is no specific version on which it can be said that it will be available. But hopefully, the next update of Google Maps will have this feature enabled in the US.
Read next: Google Is Working On A New Web Standard Called WebBundles Which Is Dangerous To The Privacy Of Internet Users, Security Researchers Warned
Now, these traffic lights are small, static markers in the middle of an intersection that just tell the driver that a traffic light is coming up. However, there is a catch! These are very small markers and the user has to really zoom in to see them in the first place. They show up when the user browses the Maps while navigating, which, as some users pointed out, can be quite dangerous. The driver will have to zoom in to see those lights on Maps, and this may take away their concentration and focus from the road ahead if they are looking into the map while driving. The chance of accidents can significantly increase if the drivers are not careful enough or if they are cautious about upcoming traffic lights. After all, it does not matter much because when a light comes, they will have to stop, whether they will know about it beforehand or not! It would have been a lot better if Google Maps could give verbal instructions about upcoming traffic lights instead of giving small ticker markers in the maps that are not even visible so clearly.
For now, this update is available for users in the US. Although, it seems to be something new in the US because many users in Japan and New England have mentioned that Google has been showing this feature on Maps in their countries for a long time.
The symbol in Japan is also rotated from what some people have observed, which probably gives a much clearer view in comparison to what Google Maps has launched now. In New England, Stop Signs are also visible in Maps along with traffic lights.
Some Apple users have pointed out that this feature has long been available in Apple Maps, and even some Audis provide this state-of-the-art traffic light navigation feature.
So, it is definitely not new or something novel and people around the world have been using better forms of this feature one way or the other.
This feature is enabled through Google servers and there is no specific version on which it can be said that it will be available. But hopefully, the next update of Google Maps will have this feature enabled in the US.
Read next: Google Is Working On A New Web Standard Called WebBundles Which Is Dangerous To The Privacy Of Internet Users, Security Researchers Warned
