Google Maps will soon let you report accidents and other incidents via CarPlay. In the current situation, you only see if a report has already been made.
Waze and Google Maps have become increasingly similar in recent years. This is also evident from the fact that both navigation apps now support incident reporting. This allows you to inform the Maps and Waze communities about accidents and other events on the road. Until now, you had to use your Android phone or iPhone to do this – those navigating via Android Auto or CarPlay did not see the button to report incidents.
That now seems to be changing for CarPlay. This is evident from reports in the CarPlay-subreddit. Several users say that a ‘warning button’ has appeared in Google Maps. The warning button, which looks like a warning triangle, conjures up a menu where you can report all kinds of ‘incidents’. This does not only concern accidents on the road, but also lane closures or local speed checks. Via that menu you can also use the following reporting options:
- Delay
- Stationary vehicle
- Object on the road
- Road work
You can now report the above items from Google Maps if you navigates via CarPlay. Not all CarPlay users seem to have the feature yet. This is because the feature is being rolled out gradually. So it may take a few weeks or days before the notification button appears in your car. In the meantime, you can of course already see what other Maps users have reported.
Incident Notifications on Android Auto
It is striking that Google is currently rolling out the function to Apple CarPlay, while Android Auto is not yet next. For Maps, this is not unique: iOS often gets new functions first. For years, for example, the weather function was only available on iOS. Presumably, however, this change for Android Auto won’t be years away.