Waze's Voice-Based Hazard Reporting App Alerts Drivers to Upcoming Dangers
Will the snow ever stop? Until it does (and even when it’s not falling), at least there’s the new Waze app that works with your iPhone to alert drivers to what hazards are awaiting for you on the road.
The waze app is the first real-time voice-based hazard reporting feature for GPS commuters and travelers worldwide that lets iPhone users stay alert and get to their destinations safely. If a user sees any number of road hazards, weather conditions, and potentially dangerous obstacles, they can report it by using the app. You can record a brief voice-description and let others in the area know what’s going on, who will be warned by fellow wazers’ voice-alert beforehand. Think of it as “Paying it forward” and sending some good driving karma your way.
Some of the hazardous conditions you can report on include traffic and accidents ahead, as well as dangerous weather conditions such as ice, heavy snow and flooding.
“Everyday, drivers are faced with any number of dangers on the road including ice, accidents, and flooding for example. The unpredictable nature of these hazards and lack of immediate road data leaves drivers vulnerable to the conditions ahead,” said Noam Bardin, CEO of waze. “The only way this information can be collected and distributed in real-time is by the initiative of group-minded individuals and a means to warn their fellow drivers.”
You can get the waze app at the Apple AppStore and Android Market Place. It can also be downloaded from the waze website for Symbian and Windows Mobile devices.
[Source: Waze]
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Amy-- Good post--Waze is definitely on the right track with voice alerts. Two points to add: 1) I've used Waze and outside of the distracted driving issue which is definitely a concern, Ive found reporting incidents and obtaining the status of traffic conditions to be easy and effective (I've used the app--as "the passenger"--on the busy Boston--New York--Washington, DC corridor with a critical mass of helpful users). 2) Waze will find that voice alerts are much more driver-friendly than anything text-based. My companys app/service, TrafficTalk (www.traffictalk.info or @traffictalk) has validated the concept of users taking the time to contribute updates on traffic conditions by voice. We recently launched the service in the top 20 most congested cities, and were already getting traction in several markets. Theres a cool recording of an actual conversation on the TrafficTalk home page--worth the 90 seconds to hear the clip. TrafficTalk has taken the basic concept of CB Radio conversations that connect drivers sharing the same roads and added mobile technology and a few new twists, making mass-market access to LIVE, voice-based traffic information possible for the first time. If you want to check us out, you can download the free iPhone app or connect to the free service from ANY phone by obtaining the access numbers and codes for your closest TrafficTalk Community from the website. We're finding that drivers are helping each other out of traffic through live voice--a valuable use of social networking/crowdsourcing and technology. Glad to see Waze adding voice alerts to the applook forward to using the new feature. Steve Stern (Co-Founder, TrafficTalk)
Thanks for you input Steven, I'll have to check out your site, it sounds very interesting! Amy