How to Report Road Incidents in Apple Maps Hands-Free

On a norm, Apple can keep you posted about roadworks, crashes, speed checks, road closures, and other road hazards while driving. But those are small compared to what the iPhones running on iOS 14.5 or later can do nowadays. In fact, you don't even have to place a finger on your phone's screen to report an incident. This simply works by using the hands-free Siri commands; you can just say something like "Hey Siri, report an accident" or "Hey Siri, there's something in the road.

You can also trigger this through the CarPlay in your car, and the feature works even outside active turn-by-turn navigation in some cases. Meanwhile, it's important to note that your Apple Map app must be opened to report what you see on the road. When you report something you see on the road to Siri by using the voice command, the AI can also update the report if the situation changes.

You don't even need to turn on separate settings to use this feature. When Apple Map is showing turn-by-turn directions, just click on the incident button to report anything you see on the road. The incidents icon is designed as a message bubble with an exclamation mark. Alternatively, you can also report incidents simply by opening the route card and tap “Report an Incident.”

Another page will pop-up showing you a list of incidents. Select the type of incident you want to report and submit the report. If you're not actively navigating a route, you can still report something on Apple Maps. All you need to do is tapping your name or initials beside the search bar, then go to Reports > Report a New Issue > Report an Incident, and pick whichever option matches what you're reporting.

Furthermore, you can also update what has already been reported by another users. To do that, just click on the upcoming incident marker and select “Cleared” if it's cleared or use the voice commands to explain the current situation of the road. Once your message is received and confirmed, the AI will update the information and other drivers using the will the update.

Apple Map Incidents and CarPlay

You can also report Apple Map incidents with CarPlay but it has to be the screen touching option, not the hand-free voice commands that works with Siri. Reporting incident with CarPlay is possible through Apple CarPlay. So, the CarPlay lets you tap into a set of iPhone features right from your car's dashboard display, and let you use things like navigation without ever picking up your phone.

However, if you don't own a car that supports it, there are several aftermarket units on the market that can bring CarPlay functionality to vehicles that weren't originally built with it.

Last thing I should let you know is that your Apple Map should always be updated on your iPhone. You can do that on the Apple App store and if you have updated to the latest iOS, the Map app will be updated automatically with it. Keep the iOS software and Apple Map will ensure you have the latest available features and fix bugs. You can turn on automatic iOS update “Automatic Update” in “Software Update” option under “Settings' General.”