Originally Posted by
noglider
As a cyclist, what do I want to be notified about that is up ahead? I can't think of anything except maybe impassable traffic, but I don't encounter that often. In the city, I know there is always a cyclist ahead as long as I'm breathing. Really, we are very common here. In the country where we spend weekends, if I learned there is a cyclist ahead, what am I supposed to do, wave? I do, so how will the warning help me?
In answer to your first question; How about your next turn ( it's a navigation app ), closed road, crash ahead on side of road, car on side of road or heavy traffic. In answer to your second question; If a newer version of the Waze app were to do just what I said it would, the user would get the typical warnings. What you do with the added information depends on the person. Wave if that makes you feel better. As a cyclist I'm just happy if no one is hitting me or running me off the road. Of course biggest advantage for the cyclists is that the motorists that use the app would get a heads-up/warning whenever a cyclist is about to enter their 12:00 position. ( or perhaps if they are approaching from behind while the cars are stuck in traffic )...that would be cool.
I don't plan on using the current Waze app for cycling. I have other apps that are better for navigation / route planning. Of course if there ever was to be an app like the one I described I'm sure it would give the cyclist the option of letting others see their presence ( via GPS ) even if they weren't using the app ( or letting it run in the background ). Of course there would have to be some fail safes because I'm sure some goof ball would set it for "bike" and then get in their car and drive. An automatic cutoff at 25 mph could work. The current app detects speed very well.