Google Maps introduces incident reporting for Australian users
Accident ahead
It might come in bits and bobs, but Google is constantly adding new features to its navigation mobile app. Google Maps will now keep you in the loop about local businesses and restaurants, lets you share your ETA with friends via third-party apps, and now comes with improved functionality on Apple CarPlay.
What it lacked was the ability for users to report accidents and speeds traps. While incident reporting was rolled out to users in other regions in July, it’s now being brought Down Under.
Ausdroid has reported that users in Australia can now report accidents and speed camera locations on Google Maps, which will add an icon to represent either a crash or a speed trap.
To use the feature, users need to tap on the ‘+’ within a speech bubble visible at the bottom left corner of the navigation screen. This will bring up an ‘Add a report’ menu with the options of adding either a crash incident or a speed trap.
It’s a handy feature to have, although no-one on TechRadar’s Australian team has seen the update yet, either on Android or iOS. It’s possible that the interactive feature is currently being rolled out to Aussie users and we should see it in the coming days.
However, Ausdroid also reports that adding an incident report or a speed camera location doesn’t display the icons for other users, so we may have to wait for more users to begin registering the incidents for the feature to work.
- Sorry, flat earthers: Google Maps on desktop now shows the Earth as a 3D globe
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
While she's happiest with a camera in her hand, Sharmishta's main priority is being TechRadar's APAC Managing Editor, looking after the day-to-day functioning of the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore editions of the site, steering everything from news and reviews to ecommerce content like deals and coupon codes. While she loves reviewing cameras and lenses when she can, she's also an avid reader and has become quite the expert on ereaders and E Ink writing tablets, having appeared on Singaporean radio to talk about these underrated devices. Other than her duties at TechRadar, she's also the Managing Editor of the Australian edition of Digital Camera World, and writes for Tom's Guide and T3.