While being a EU citizen, traveling to another continent made me realize a few stellar differences the way the roads are built, especially when it comes to road marks and traffic signs. Driving in Europe often makes me feel like the traffic signs are informative, just not descriptive enough.

Signs for curves and intersections are present where needed, but they do not provide accurate information about the curve or the intersection itself.

A quick look into more informative road signs

Road signs in New Zealand

Road signs are overall more descriptive in New Zealand. See the examples below:

The train line crossing warning signs are easy to understand. The mention how the train lines will intersect with the main roads, graphically explaining in which way, in which segment of the road, and on which side of the road they will appear.

The same happens with the curve signs. Those are a graphic representation of the direction, shape and angle of the curves, allowing the driver to understand multiple aspects with a single symbol.

Google Maps navigation in a glympse

Navigating with Google Maps makes arriving to your destination a breeze. It analyses the traffic, redirects you towards faster routes, warns you about possible accidents on the road, and it even allows you to avoid tolls.

Navigating in a modern city seems to be fairly easy, but what happens when one is in the countryside, driving dangerous mountain roads?

Curvy, inclined and sometimes slippery mountain roads are hard to drive. But, luckily, Google Maps is in the position to provide drivers with better insights.

Key takeaways:

• Google Maps can detect the driver’s speed,
• and also the angle of each curve, to produce a more accurate road sign.

Also, when centered, the user’s position is marked on the bottom of the screen, leaving a wide area of the screen unused – see below:

That area can be used to show warnings such as tight curves, for example, combining visual and auditive cues.

Take a look at the example below:

Focus on accessibility

• Bright sign on top of the screen, mimicking the curve
• Possibility to add audio cues

Results

Adding a sign that mimics the shape of the curve can possibly influence the driver to reduce its speed while presenting details about the curve in advance, reducing the surprise effect over sharp turns,

minimizing the risk of accident.