Google Maps has started showing icons for accidents on almost all roads in some areas of the US. The most alerts have been noticed around Chicago and other parts of the state of Illinois, while in Seattle the map has remained without unusual markings.
The problem is visible both in the mobile application and in the web version of Google Maps. Users have reported dozens of accidents on roads where there are no traces of accidents. Some of the icons have remained active for about 17 hours, although such alerts usually have to be confirmed or automatically removed.
The most likely explanation is a technical error on the part of Google's servers, and not a real wave of road accidents. At the moment, there is no public explanation from Google about the cause. The incident has been reported in several different regions, but it doesn't affect all users.
Google Maps allows drivers to report accidents, traffic jams, roadworks and other hazards. Once they've submitted them, the icon appears on the map for other users driving in the area. When they get closer to the location, they can confirm whether the problem is still there. The question appears on the screen: “Is it still there?“
If there are no confirmations, the alert should disappear or expire automatically. Therefore, the continued presence of multiple old icons indicates a problem with data processing or clearing, rather than the normal operation of the feature. Mass submission by a single user also seems unlikely. If there are too many alerts, the system can restrict the account so that its new posts are not displayed to other users.
Google Maps has offered incident alerts on mobile devices since 2019, and in 2024 the feature was expanded to Android Auto and CarPlay, and the app also began using some of the data submitted by the Waze community. This increased the role of user alerts in navigation, but at the same time made such technical errors more visible to drivers.