Waze and Amtrak have partnered to introduce the company’s new feature that will alert users approaching a railroad crossing.
Amtrak says this feature is unique to Waze and puts drivers’ safety first, helping them return to the roads by highlighting the potential risks associated with driving over railroad crossings.
“Being able to warn motorists that train tracks are ahead is a great contribution to public safety that will positively impact the rail industry nationwide,” said Amtrak Police Chief Sam Dotson. “We applaud Waze for helping drivers identify railroad tracks further encouraging them to follow state laws at grade crossings, especially where no active warning devices exist like gates, bells or flashing lights. Most importantly, we believe that these audible and visual alerts will start saving lives immediately.”
The decision to add railway crossing alerts to the Waze map follows recommendations from both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which said that doing so can help reduce the number of drivers involved in railroad crossing fatalities. The Federal Railroad Administration also championed this feature and provided valuable insights as Waze used their publicly available database of railway crossings.
The new feature will automatically alert drivers using the latest version of Waze on Android or iOS that they are approaching a railroad crossing. A banner will appear on the Waze app highlighting the crossing and encouraging the driver to approach with caution.
“The Railroad Crossing feature is a result of a cross-industry, cross-sector collaboration, both internally within Waze and the community, working together to help fellow drivers map out all highway-railroad intersections,” said Dani Simons, head of Public Sector Partnerships, Waze. “This feature exemplifies Waze’s commitment to building for its Driving app, being the first to implement features and emphasizes our focus on safety.”
