DRIVERS using Google Maps may notice a number of important new warnings appear on the app from today.
More types of incident reports have been spotted on the platform lately which must not be ignored.
New alerts include low visibility warnings[/caption]
App also warns of flooded roads[/caption]
The app has been introducing a growing number of features seen on Waze, which is also owned by Google.
At the end of last year, we saw the ability to report police sightings on Google Maps.
And now some more alerts have started cropping up.
So far, they’ve only been seen on Android Auto dashboards – not to be confused with Android phones.
And it’s landed on the iOS version of Google Maps too.
It will likely roll out to Android phones at some point soon.
Android Police reports that three new alerts have began appearing.
And the trio are all important for road safety.
They are:
- Flooded road
- Low visibility
- Unplowed road
Of course, flooded road alerts are there to warn you after a heavy rain downpour.
Low visibility will appear when an area is suffering with dense fog.
And unplowed road will pop up after hefty snowfall for roads that may be too tricky drive through.
The alerts are handy but some motorists have already complained that there are too many on the app.
“The alerts are not only unhelpful 99% of the time, they are actively distracting while trying to drive and also interrupt whatever music or podcasts you’re trying to listen to on your road trip,” one user recently wrote on Reddit.
“Every 3 minutes I would hear “ping ping! There’s police up ahead” followed by a dialog box asking me to confirm if what it just told me is even true or not *facepalm*.”
Another commented: “I totally agree, I hate it.”
What are the UK speed limits?
These are the speed limits for every type of road vehicle in the UK.
- Built-up areas
The speed limit for all types of vehicles in built-up areas is 30mph.
Be it a car, a motorcycle, a bus or a heavy vehicle, across the UK, you can only drive at 30mph in such roads.
- Single carriageways
The speed limits in single carriageways vary between vehicles.
In such a road, the speed limits for:
- A car, a motorcycle, a car-derived van or a dual-purpose vehicle is 60mph.
- A car, a motorcycle, a car-derived can or a dual-purpose vehicle when towing a caravan or a trailer is 50mph.
- A motorhome or motor caravan that is not more than 3.05 tonnes is 60mph.
- A motorhome or motor caravan that is more than 3.05 tonnes is 50mph.
- All buses, coaches and minibuses, be it if they are under 12 metres long or over, is 50mph.
- Goods vehicles that do not carry more than 7.5 tonnes, is 50mph.
- Good vehicles that carry more than 7.5 tonnes in England and Wales, is 50mph.
- Goods vehicles that carry more than 7.5 tonnes in Scotland, is 40mph.
- Dual carriageways
The speed limits in dual carriageways vary too, depending on the type of vehicle.
The speed limit for:
- A car, a motorcycle, a car-derived can or a dual-purpose vehicle is 70mph.
- A car, a motorcycle, a car-derived van or a dual-purpose vehicle towing a caravan or a trailer is 60mph.
- A motorhome or a motor caravan carrying less than 3.05 tonnes is 70mph.
- A motorhome or a motor caravan carrying more than 3.05 tonnes is 60mph.
- Buses, coaches and minibuses is always 60mph, no matter whether they are longer than 12 metres or not.
- A goods vehicle carrying less than 7.5 tonnes is 60mph.
- A goods vehicle carrying more than 7.5 tonnes in England and Wales is 60mph.
- A goods vehicle carrying more than 7.5 tonnes in Scotland is 50mph.
- Motorways
On a motorway, the speed limits depends on what vehicle you are driving too.
The speed limit for:
- A car, a motorcycle, a car-derived van or a dual-purpose vehicle is 70mph.
- A car, a motorcycle, a car-derived van or a dual-purpose vehicle towing a caravan or a trailer is 60mph.
- A motorhome or a motor caravan carrying less or more than 3.05 tonnes is 70mph.
- A bus, a coach or a minibus that is shorter than 12 metres is 70mph.
- A bus, a coach or a minibus longer than 12 metres is 60mph.
- A goods vehicle carrying less than 7.5 tonnes is 70mph, but if it is towing a trailer, then it must be driven at 60mph.
- A good vehicle carrying more than 7.5 tonnes in England, Wales or Scotland is 60mph.
It’s good to note some following changes that may be applied to how your vehicle is classified while driving:
- If your van is loaded with less than two tonnes, then it is considered as a car-derived van or dual-purpose vehicle.
- If your motorhome or motor caravan is either carrying goods for exhibition or used as a workshop or to keep storage, then they are classified as a goods vehicle.
