Waze: GPS App Launches New Winter-Friendly Tracking Feature

Google-owned Waze has launched a new feature in its popular GPS and traffic-tracking app targeted at holiday travelers and those who live in areas heavily affected by winter weather.

With this new feature, Waze will track the real-time snow conditions of roads. This will include whether a not a road has been plowed or not. Just as the app allows users to submit information about traffic patterns, accidents, and police presences, users will be able to submit information about whether or not roads have been cleared yet.

Waze will make this feature available in 185 countries. It was developed in partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation, who will be using data collected to improve its operations. Waze conducts all such collaborations through its “Waze for Cities Data” program.

To find the information or to report unplowed roads, app users need to go to the “Hazards” section and then the “Weather” subsection within Waze’s reporting tools.

Waze launched in 2006 as “FreeMap Israel” by Israeli programmer Ehud Shabtai.

In 2013, by then going by its current name, the app was acquired by Google. The key feature of Waze is its crowd-sourcing tools which allow users to submit information about various hazards and situations which might increase travel.

The app’s police locator capability has come under fire in the past. In 2014, the Los Angeles Police Department said that the tracking feature – which helps users know when to watch their speed – could be used by criminals to hunt down and endanger police officers.