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Difficult Intersection is Waze’s first solution to all current real life hyperlocal driving challenges.
STATES CHRONICLE – Waze has been heard at work to make its users happy. Los Angeles drivers using the navigation app are now free to field-test its newest feature. The feature itself was designed and programmed with beginner or casual drivers in mind, and it will allow users to navigate without difficult intersections.
The difficult intersections in question are the ones which would require drivers to make left-hand turns. Turning left at a busy intersection has been voted by casual drivers as being one of the most stressful and dangerous driving activities.
It has been proven to be so difficult that Waze believes that casual drivers could actually make the same time or even faster times by using its difficult intersections feature.
There will be cases in which the estimated arrival time will be greater, and a detour does imply a longer distance driven, but Waze believes that the relief of unnecessary stress will be worth it.
If any alternative route found would take considerable too long, however, the navigation app will advise drivers to take the left-hand turn. During its initial testing stages, the re-routing option has proven to be quite useful. Apart from only a few specially designed severe test scenarios, the feature was always able to find an efficient alternate route.
Apart from left-hand turns, drivers will also be able to avoid intersections which have no traffic lights, overly crowded intersections, limited visibility intersections, and roundabouts.
The difficult intersections feature will be turned on by default for all update versions of Waze. If the driver is confident enough not to have to use the feature, it can be quickly turned off. In the app’s Navigation setting, the users can just toggle the “reduce difficult intersections” option.
Waze is making the feature available only for drivers in and around Los Angeles, currently but intends on quickly adding more cities to the list. Waze is now considering New Orleans as the next city where it will make its difficult intersections feature available.
Waze differs from the majority of driving and navigation apps by allowing its community to play a bigger part in its development and content. The service continually evolves and adapts its settings and knowledge-base with the help of data collected from all of its users.
Image Courtesy of Waze.
