Driving in a big city like New York or Los Angeles can be kind of terrifying, especially for out-of-towners who aren't familiar with the roads. Fortunately, you no longer need a local riding shotgun to get a heads up about dangerous intersections along your route.
Waze on Wednesday introduced a new feature that will suggest you slow down and be cautious when approaching "intersections that data has determined have the greatest incidence of collisions or injuries" in five major U.S. cities. That includes Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
The Google-owned navigation app created this new feature with data from The City of Boston, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, New York Police Department, San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the District Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. Based on that data, the app can now tell you when you're rolling up to an intersection with high collision and injury rates, including incidents involving pedestrians and bikes.
"It truly is an exciting time when technology, municipalities and every-day people can work together seamlessly to make cities a safer place," the Waze team wrote in a blog post. "We're hopeful that data goes on to show fewer collisions and injuries at these intersections in the months and years to come."
Meanwhile, Waze also recently introduced another new feature called Planned Drives for iOS, which will tell you exactly when to leave to get there on time. Just enter the time and date you need to arrive, and Waze will tell you when to get your butt out the door. The app will also send you a reminder closer to the event with an updated departure time, based on real-time traffic conditions.