After all, reporting accidents on google maps is… more dangerous?

The new Google Maps security functionality can actually be unaffected, warns distracted driving experts.

The famous Google Maps application – which is still the most commonly used for road circulation and traffic information – has recently started asking drivers to confirm the presence of incidents on the roads they go through, but experts warn that the functionality can become, In fact, the most dangerous roads.

A, which went into operation last summer, is based on a pop-up that asks the driver whether or not there is an accident, a car stopped or police presence at ‘x’ meters away, so that the application can continue to inform the rest of the drivers correctly.

Despite being a yes or no question, it involves fingertips with the screen and Promotes drivers distractionwarn experts.

One of the biggest problems pointed out is the Need for a quick response To this question from Google Maps. A decreasing counting timer makes the question disappear in seconds of the screen, which urges drivers to advance quickly to click, regardless of their road situation – on top of that, these drivers are often facing one or more cars Stopped on the highway, when they are urged to move their mobile phone to confirm such an accident, which increases the likelihood of something to run badly.

Experts in human factors and distracted driving heard by warning that even seemingly simple requests can divert the attention of road drivers at critical times.

“If the order occurs when preparing to turn or change track, can divert attention and cause confusion“, Warns Birsen Donmez, a professor at the University of Toronto who studies distracted driving. You inexperienced or elderly conductors are particularly vulnerable Given this situation, he added, since they may have difficulty processing irrelevant stimuli while driving.

With the Wazealso widely used by drivers, it was already possible to signal an accident, the presence of police or radar, a road cut or bad atmospheric conditions. Since purchasing this navigation system in 2013, Google has incorporated traffic data into Google Maps, allowing drivers to communicate incidents as they occur.

“Most of the time, it is irrelevant information for security,” but that, in the end, can meet the opposite of what it promises, and negatively affect road safety, the expert also says.