Today Google has unleashed another huge update for Google Maps. While this update isn’t on the app side that will need downloading, instead it is backend features that will enable their real-time live traffic status alerts and details to an additional 130 cities across the US. That is a huge update if you ask us, and they’ve even included Costa Rica, and Panama City too.

Today on the official Google LatLong Blog they’ve detailed what’s new, and who’s all being updated to enjoy this amazing feature. This is something we can all use in our daily life, and I’m so use to it it’s just second nature for me. Their live traffic features went live in 2008 but they haven’t issued many updates to the service. Today that has completely changed. Here’s a quick video:

Now if you are headed to work, or traveling for a vacation Google Maps will now be able to help you with traffic alerts, status updates and more all in over 130 new cities across the United States. This same update also includes Colombia, the streets of Bogotá, San José, and arterial roads in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Users can now enjoy travel alerts, traffic updates, and even estimated time arrivals and travel times.

The U.S. aren’t the only lucky ones either. They’ve also either rolled out or expanded the same features to Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom today as well. It looks like Apple chose the wrong time to bail on Google Maps. It now has even more features than ever and is getting better by the week. Remember to drive save, and keep those hands on the wheel!