An Essential Feature Arrives Late to Waze
If you use navigation apps like Waze, one of the most basic features you expect is the display of traffic lights along your route. Surprisingly, this was missing from Waze for a long time, despite its vast community of map editors and Google ownership. Google Maps has offered traffic light indicators since 2022, making Waze's absence all the more notable.
Fortunately, Waze is now reportedly testing a feature that displays traffic lights on navigation maps, though this is currently limited to Israel. To prevent clutter, the app shows only three traffic lights during active navigation. However, users can pause navigation to see all traffic lights nearby. It's anticipated that this limit may expand as testing progresses and the feature rolls out globally.
While there is no official release date yet, Waze confirmed in May that traffic light support is on the development roadmap, indicating that it will likely be available to all users soon.
Community Feedback on Traffic Light Support
Current Poll Stats (43 votes):
- Yes: 41.86%
- No: 23.26%
- Prefer Waze’s other features: 34.88%
How Traffic Lights Enhance Navigation
Waze is a favorite navigation app for many, including myself, especially on bike trips with my Pixel 10. Features like bump notifications and speed limit alerts enhance safety and convenience by warning about speed bumps and changing speed limits.
Adding traffic light indicators will further enrich the app’s usability. Drivers sometimes miss road signs due to poor weather or obstructions, so having traffic signal information directly on the navigation screen helps anticipate stops and slow down when necessary.
Looking ahead, it would be beneficial if Waze also introduces crosswalk indicators similar to Google Maps, alerting drivers to pedestrian crossings and helping prevent accidents.
