According to The New York Times, Google and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will announce a partnership today that will lead to the inclusion of all grade crossings in the United States via Google Maps. The FRA’s hope is that this addition to Maps will bring down the amount of accidents that happen at crossings, which spiked last year by 9%.
In total, there are over 200K crossings in the US, with roughly 2,000 accidents taking place each year at these locations. With the help of new audible and visual warnings while users have voice navigation turned on, Google Maps can hopefully have a direct impact on the number of accidents.
There is no word on when these changes will be made to Maps, but once Google and the FRA make the official announcement, we should have a good idea as to when you can expect it.
Anything that makes driving safer is a plus in our book.
This is a big get for Google’s autonomous cars. Yet another DB it can tap into to augment all of it’s safety systems.
Neat, but idiots will still find a way to get themselves killed.
One big giant YAWN
Apple actually invented this back in 2019.
I was just driving from Texas to Virginia and Google Maps had me leave the interstate to avoid an accident. That would have been great except the alternate route had a train crossing and I sat forever waiting for a very long train to go by at like 5mph. I hope this means Google Maps will know when trains are coming and be able to route accordingly and not just that there are tracks.
That would be wishful thinking.
They can’t get a schedule, but the app should recognize when there’s a traffic stand still at a crossing, just like it would with an accident.
Would you rather have more trucks and traffic? Also, while passenger trains and high priority freight trains run on exact schedules, many freight trains don’t start or run on an exact schedules, so that would be impossible.
The trains in SODO will sit for hours then move 40 feet back, then forth 10 feet or so just to tease you. Then sit for 25 more minutes and then when they are good and damn ready they MAY get out of everyone’s way.
They are working, we railroaders have more important things to worry about than “teasing” unknown people on Droid Life ?
I really only feel bad for the bystanders and passengers that are hurt in this, the idiots making the mistake is Darwinism in action.
Remove the warning labels and let the problem work themselves out.
related to Google Maps only, has anyone else lost the little buzz reminder on Android Wear when the next step in navigation is approaching? I can’t tell if it’s related to my Moto 360 upgrading to 5.1.1, or because of the recent Maps update on Android Wear. I’d hate to know that I’m the only one =
It’s still working on my LG Urbane
darn, not what I was hoping for. I checked to make sure the app isn’t muted, not sure what else to do. thanks for the input, even if it wasn’t the response I was hoping for =P
I know it’s a simple thing, but have you tried a reset on the watch? Connecting it back to your phone after a reset should load everything back onto it, and it’s a pretty quick process. It’ll also reload the applications like maps, and fix anything that may have went wrong.
gonna try it now!
a factory reset did the trick. don’t know why, but I’m glad it did. thanks for the friendly push to do something I know I should’ve tried all along!
Sometimes it’s the simple things we avoid, that are the easiest fix. Glad it worked for you!
I also noticed it was missing from my 360 on 5.1.1
I started a thread on xda here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360/help/navigation-buzz-t3146482
hopefully someone knows a fix!
I don’t use google maps or android but the good news is I have never been hit by a train…yet.
Well just think when you switch your chances of getting hit will be greatly minimized.
This is a cool idea. I think Google should by the app “Transit”. It’s amazing and works everywhere in America and Europe
Why would you need Google Maps for this? Is it that hard to just pay attention to the road?
http://media2.giphy.com/media/9uXsLLSZGpWbS/giphy.gif
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Did they give area on why the accidents spiked so much last year?
I’d hazard to guess distracted driving. Now the same device that is likely to cause distracted driving, a smartphone, is supposed to prevent these accidents.
You’re not too distracted when you make the conscious effort to go around crossing gayes.
People in a rush, going around crossing gates. See it every day.
http://giphy.com/gifs/yes-cards-wavves-GzFZ8QPGj3n4k
How will this stop people from stopping on the train tracks?
It won’t. Stupid people will always do something stupid.
Modern day Darwinism at its finest.
It won’t, the problem isn’t that the public is unaware, it’s that they don’t care. People will still try and beat the train, or go around the gates.