Crowdsourced navigation app and Google subsidiary Waze is adding new features that allow you to report unplowed roads made more dangerous or inaccessible during snowstorms within the app, and also to see reports posted by other people who have already added their own to the map. This Waze update was also developed by the company after it received a recommendation to build this kind of reporting option from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), working with the municipal agency through its ‘Waze for Cities Data’ partnership and data sharing program.
People can report both unplowed roads through the ‘Hazards -> Weather’ section of the app’s reporting tools, and it’s live and available in all 185 countries where Waze is currently available. In Virginia, specifically, Waze will be providing back data from its crowdsourced snow condition data gathering to the VDOT, which will use it along with other info about snow clearance from its own sources to help better inform its snow removal efforts during future cold seasons.
Snow is a huge factor when it comes to winter driving in areas where conditions allow for it. Waze building this in alongside other reporting options like collisions and construction delays should go over well with anyone living in an area where snowfalls regularly require road clearance.
