Android Auto adds a key feature to improve road safety for US drivers

After years of requests, Google Maps for Android Auto has finally added a long-awaited feature: the ability to report real-time traffic incidents such as accidents, traffic jams and speed checkpoints. Until now, Android Auto users in the US have been deprived of this feature, even though it was available on Waze (also owned by Google). While incidents could be reported on the Google Maps phone app, doing so while driving was obviously unsafe, meaning most drivers didn’t bother to do so.

Incident reporting was first introduced in Google Maps for mobile devices a few years ago, but it was still only available on phones. Oddly enough, while Google Maps on Apple CarPlay received this feature earlier this year, Android Auto users were left out. This changed briefly in July when Google rolled out the feature to Android Auto as well – but only in India.

User reports in recent days, including on a Reddit thread, have confirmed that incident reporting is now available in the Google Maps app on Android Auto in the US. 9to5Google also reported that the feature is indeed being rolled out on a wider scale.

You should now see a new triangle-shaped emergency button located just below the compass in Google Maps on your car’s display. Clicking on it will allow you to report a variety of issues such as traffic jams, lane closures, accidents and even speed cameras. You may also receive notifications along your route asking you to confirm whether the reported issues still persist.

However, there is a catch. This new button may not appear if the Android Auto layout doesn’t give Google Maps enough screen space. 9to5Google noticed that the emergency button was visible on a 105 DPI display using AAWireless, but disappeared when the DPI was raised to 110, suggesting that layout settings or screen size may affect its accessibility.

Nevertheless, for Android Auto users who have been waiting for this feature, this is a big step forward. So check your car’s screen to see if you see the new button, and let us know in the comments below.