Crowdsourcing works like a charm in the automotive space, and Waze is the best example. Users can send traffic reports based on what they see on the road, flagging a hazard on the map and letting everybody else know about it.
Potholes, traffic jams, broken traffic lights, flooding, and more are all supported by Waze, and simply firing up the application on a smartphone lets everybody see their locations. If they care about them, authorities can easily see where they must step in and send road maintenance crews and police, but more often than not, they don't.
General Motors has recently invented a new system that wouldn't give authorities much choice, as long as they agree to be part of this program.
The company wants its cars to detect road hazards, such as potholes, flooding, and damaged road signs, and report them to the authorities. The reports would be stored in a database and submitted to the agencies in charge of dealing with them.
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