Waze looking at fixing “Waze left” issues on navigation app

Ask people who use Waze on a daily basis and they’ll probably tell you about that time when they refused to listen to the navigation app and ended up late for an appointment. Or that time when they followed it despite the directions being strange but ended up getting to their destination faster. And they’ll probably also tell you about how they almost got into an accident because of the “Waze left” maneuver. The company is now trying to act on and lessen those infamous incidents.

While the shortcuts and and traffic avoidance powers of Waze has been a huge help for motorists, the app sometimes tells drivers to make left turns through incoming traffic at some intersections, and they aren’t always that clear cut or safe. The turns are actually legal, but in the US, 60% of intersection collisions are actually because of cars turning left, while only 4% are from those turning right. This isn’t a random fact or a superstitious matter: there are more ways of getting into trouble when you turn left than when you turn right.

According to Paige Fitzgerald, Waze’s manager for government agencies’ partnerships, they are looking into “reducing that occurrence in our routing algorithm.” This is due to several complaints and also media stories that have said Waze’s directions when it comes to sudden left turns aren’t that safe. And if you look at social media posts about the navigation app, you’ll find constant complaints about the “Waze left”. Responses to an article that they posted last year about whether users want fewer left-hand turns have also reflected that.

There aren’t any concrete plans yet by Waze on addressing this problem. In a statement, they said, “We’re excited to remain innovative here, although as of now there are no immediate plans to change our algorithm for implementation. But they do assure users that they are working on improving the left-turn routing at certain intersections.

VIA: Quartz