Waze to Introduce New Feature Showing Railroad Crossings in Collaboration with Amtrak

Adding railroad crossing alerts platform was decided following recommendations from both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The suggestion to add railroad crossing to app-based navigation platforms like Waze was aimed to contribute to the efforts to reduce the number of drivers involved in railroad crossing fatalities.

FREMONT, CA: Washington-based passenger railroad service provider, Amtrak, partnered with Waze to announce a new feature that will provide alerts to users approaching a railroad crossing. 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. The Waze platform is aimed at bringing communities closer on and off the road.

 “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.”

Adding railroad crossing alerts platform was decided following recommendations from both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The suggestion to add railroad crossing to app-based navigation platforms like Waze was aimed to contribute to the efforts to reduce the number of drivers involved in railroad crossing fatalities. The feature was also championed by the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, which also provided valuable insights as Waze used their publicly available database of U.S. railway crossings.

“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.”

The new feature will automatically alert drivers using the latest version of Waze on Android or iOS of any railroad crossings ahead. The feature will work in the form of a banner that will appear on the applications, warning the drivers to approach with caution. The feature will be first available on Android and iOS.