Google's Waze launches new feature to help drivers avoid left turns

   

Google's Maps and Navigation app, which it acquired in 2013, is introducing a new routing feature -- initially only for the Los Angeles area -- that helps drivers avoid these difficult intersections when possible. For drivers in Los Angeles, the "Difficult Intersections" feature will automatically turn on, and users can turn it off in the settings. Waze said the feature will soon be rolled out to New Orleans and, if there is demand, to other cities around the world.

Waze says it tries to strike a balance between avoiding difficult intersections and taking an efficient, shorter route. By default, the app will suggest the best route to avoid difficult intersections, but drivers can still choose to take a "difficult intersection" route if the detour is too far to avoid the intersection.

The goal of the "navigating difficult intersections" feature is to reduce these intersections, not avoid them entirely.

Fortune said that to develop this feature, Waze turned to local agencies for help - especially the people who help edit its maps. These Angelenos shared what they thought were the most difficult intersections to navigate and provided detours. Waze also worked with the city of Los Angeles to better understand the city's road conditions.

Waze says that for non-Los Angeles users, if you think there are particularly difficult intersections in your city, you can report them in the app.

Waze is constantly rolling out new features. Last month, Waze launched a feature to help drivers avoid speeding by alerting users if their speed is too high. Waze said the feature is intended to help drivers navigate unfamiliar areas where speed limits are not posted or change seasonally. The feature is already available in 18 countries, including Austria, Brazil, Colombia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Uruguay, but not the United States.

Fortune said Waze also recently began testing a carpooling service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Waze began testing a carpooling service in Israel last year and expanded the trial to 25,000 employees at several companies, including Adobe.