The Waze app has been spotted rolling out its latest feature, which lets traffic lights that appear on routes, to users in different parts of the country. However, the rollout has been particularly slow.
The traffic lights feature would be super useful when navigating a route, especially as it will give users a visual guide on when to slow down or come to a complete stop, so as to avoid any accidents on the road.
Waze's Traffic Lights Feature On Route Is Here
According to a Reddit user, u/yayoshorti, traffic lights are now appearing on routes for some users, which means the Google-owned app now has the long-awaited visual cue that has been standard on competing navigation apps for some time.
The feature has been in testing since December 2025 and is now showing up for a wider group of users, though it has not yet reached everyone on the platform.
The traffic lights feature displays signal icons directly on the map as users navigate their route, making it easier to anticipate stops ahead, particularly on long stretches of road where signals can come up unexpectedly.
For drivers who rely on Waze daily, the addition brings a layer of awareness that helps with timing and lane preparation before reaching a traffic light.
Screenshots shared by users on Reddit show the traffic light icons appearing along streets in the US, rendered clearly on the map interface in a way consistent with how Waze already displays other road markers like speed bumps and speed cameras.
The feature does not appear to require any settings change to activate, and users who have it report that it simply shows up in the app during navigation without any toggle needed.
Waze Traffic Lights Feature Is Rolling Out Slowly
Reports of the feature appearing have been trickling in over the past couple of months, with a Reddit thread from this week showing several more users seeing traffic lights for the first time. The gradual appearance suggests Waze is running a staged server-side rollout rather than pushing a full app update to all users simultaneously.
Waze has not made any formal announcement about the feature, and there is no confirmed timeline for when it will be available universally. It is unclear when Waze will open the feature up to all users, but the expansion is noticeably broader than it was a few months ago.
What to Expect From Waze's New Feature
For years, Waze stood out from Google Maps and Apple Maps primarily because of its community-driven incident reporting and routing. But on the basic map display front, it has been trailing its rivals as Google Maps added traffic lights to navigation back in 2022, and Apple Maps has offered them as well, making Waze the last major navigation app to bring this feature to its users.
For Waze users who have not yet seen the feature, the rollout pattern suggests it is a matter of time rather than eligibility. No app update appears necessary, meaning the change is being pushed from Waze's servers directly. Once it reaches a user's account, the icons show up automatically during active navigation.
Waze has also been adding other road warnings in recent months, including speed bump alerts and improved speed limit warnings, so the traffic lights addition fits a broader push to modernize what users see on screen while driving.
