Waze and Garmin are starting to roll out live cyclist proximity alerts globally today, bringing warnings about nearby participating riders to drivers using Android and iOS. Drivers receive notifications encouraging them to slow down and watch for cyclists when a participating rider is close by.
Cyclists choose whether to participate, rather than appearing automatically because they use a Garmin device. To take part, riders must turn on Garmin LiveTrack™ and opt to make themselves visible in Waze. A Garmin Edge® bike computer or Garmin smartwatch can be used for the feature, though the announcement does not name specific supported models.
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Participating riders appear in Waze as moving icons, giving drivers an indication of cyclists near them as they travel. According to the announcement, the warnings drivers see are temporary and carry no details about an individual cyclist, and drivers cannot see the route a cyclist is riding.
A cyclist ending a ride on their Garmin device immediately switches off the alerts associated with that ride. The feature’s visibility therefore depends on both the rider choosing to participate through Garmin LiveTrack™ and keeping the ride active on their device.
