Waze, the app designed to help solve challenges to today’s modern transportation situations, will have a railroad crossing feature that will provide alerts to users approaching a railroad crossing.
As more Waze users return to the road after months of community quarantines and travel restrictions, the unique feature will help put drivers’ safety first by highlighting the potential risks associated with driving over railroad crossings.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) continues to call for the strict implementation and compliance to Section 42 (d) of Republic Act No. 4136, the country’s “Land Transportation and Traffic Code.” It states that a driver should make a full stop when approaching any railroad crossing.
Around September of last year, several people, including two toddlers, were injured when a van tried to beat the red light at the Parian Crossing in Calamba, Laguna and collided with an approaching Philippine National Railways (PNR) train. The van then rammed into three houses and a tricycle parked nearby.
Available now globally, local Waze map editors have played an important role in incorporating railroad crossings to the map in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the UK, Italy, Israel, Brazil, Colombia, Belgium, Poland, Hungary, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, New Zealand, Netherlands and Ireland.
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 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.”
This feature is available on Android and iOS. Download Waze, the platform bringing together communities on and off the road, via Waze.com.