Apple Maps adds ability to report accidents and hazards in iOS 14.5

Apple Maps Accident Reporting Ios 14 (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

Apple Maps is getting some reporting features in iOS 14.5.
Users will be able to report an accident, hazard, speed trap, or incident with Siri or CarPlay.
The feature is available to beta users starting today.

One of the popular features enjoyed by mapping apps like Waze has been the ability to report accidents, hazards, or speed traps that alerts other drivers on the road that happen to be on the same route or in that general area. It's a handy feature that might help other drivers to find a better route depending on the impact that an accident or hazard has on traffic.

Now, it appears that the feature is making its way to Apple Maps. The feature, which is rolling out to the iOS 14.5 developer and public beta today, will let drivers and passengers report accidents, hazards, or speed traps to other Apple Maps users who are on the same route.

Apple Maps Accident Reporting Siri (Image credit: Apple)

The feature will work with Siri or CarPlay and allow you to say things like "Hey Siri, there's an accident up ahead" to log the accident. Users will also be able to report that an accident, hazard, or speed trap is no longer there.

The list of phrases Siri will understand includes things like:

"Hey Siri, report an accident."
"Hey Siri, there's a hazard."
"Hey Siri, there's a speed trap here."
"Hey Siri, there's no longer an incident."

Apple Maps Accident Reporting Clear (Image credit: Apple)

The feature is almost identical to those that have existed in the Waze app that users have enjoyed for years, and it is a good one for Apple to bring to its Apple Maps app.

The feature will be available to everyone once iOS 14.5 is released to all users, but it is currently unclear when that will be.

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.