The updated Waze app is designed to roll out voice commands in the Filipino language.
The world's largest community based traffic and navigation app Waze will soon incorporate some improvement to make it compliant with the Philippines’ recently enacted Anti-Distracted Driving Act. The advanced app will run with voice commands and as a bonus for Filipinos, voice features in Tagalog.
Under the Anti-Distracted Driving Act, drivers are allowed to mount GPS devices or smartphones on their dashboards. They, however, are not allowed to touch or hold tools to send a text, make a call, or read messages – unless the motorist has an emergency.
Waze said the upgraded app can easily be used in the safe-zones mandated by the law, which stated that navigation aids can be placed on dashboard and do not exceed the four-inch limit.
To enable this function, simply follow the directions below:
Go to settings
Select “Sound and Voice” under the advanced settings menu
Tap on voice commands
Now you can speak to your phone
A prompt will appear to ask for the destination
The spoken words will be recognized by the app
Under the Anti-Distracted Driving Act, drivers are allowed to mount GPS devices or smartphones on their dashboards
Mona Weng, global strategic partnerships manager of Waze, said that the app will come with voice commands, which can recognize the Filipino language, to help local drivers comply with the Anti-Distracted Driving Act that will take effect on July 6. This means motorists do not have to touch their smartphones to input instructions into Waze.