Now that the Christmas and New Year holidays have arrived, Spanish roads are once again full of cars and drivers eager to get home as soon as possible. However, it can be dangerous if we do not take proper precautions by following traffic and road safety laws.
Fortunately, our cell phone, or the Android Auto screen in our car, can help us get home safely thanks to several driving assistance features. For example, it is well known that Google Maps is able to display traffic levels on a route and recommend another if there is a traffic jam on the one we have chosen.
Another detail that carries weight when choosing a route are the DGT speed cameras, but fortunately Google Maps also has a related function. And something that many people still don’t know is that the position of fixed speed cameras is known and can be shared without problem via social networks and applications; In fact, the DGT itself periodically publishes this information, the last time on November 30. Apps like Maps collect this information so it’s easy to find within the app.
Radar alert on mobile
When we create a route in Google Maps, we need to choose the traffic layer in the application so that it shows us information related to the route, such as speed cameras. In EL ESPAÑOL – El Androide Libre we have already explained how to see speed cameras in Google Maps, but in summary, you have to click on the layers button in the upper right corner and choose the “Traffic” layer. Fixed speed cameras will appear orange at the different points where they have been installed. Additionally, mobile speed cameras will appear as blue dots, although their position is not published by the DGT and depends on information obtained through other means such as users.
Enabling the traffic layer in Google Maps
Free Android
However, this is not very useful if we are driving and forget that there was a speed camera. The good news is that we can do Google Maps warns us of the radar with a voice message. To do this we need to make sure that we have activated the voice options of the application.
In the Google Maps application, if we click on our Google profile image, the application options menu will open; We must enter “Settings”. Here we will find many options, but the one that interests us is “Browsing Settings”. On the screen that will open we must make sure that in the “Sound and voice” section The “Sound On” option is highlighted; This means that Maps will have permission to broadcast the radar warning. From this screen we can also activate voice playback via Bluetooth if the cell phone is connected to the car system, and activate the “Audio alerts” option, if it is not activated, so that alerts are broadcast. Unfortunately, there is no way to choose which warnings we want to broadcast, so if we want the speed camera warning we must also listen to the rest of the indications.
How to enable Google Maps voice prompts
Free Android
This can be a great help, but there is one important detail that we must take into account: Google Maps will only report fixed speed cameras to us. Mobile speed cameras, although they appear on the map, will not trigger a warning when we are driving; Likewise, other methods of traffic control, such as helicopters, are not included. You should therefore always exercise caution while driving and control the speed of the vehicle, without relying too much on this warning.
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