Waze Helps You Avoid Speeding Tickets

Got a lead foot? Waze's mobile app will now warn you if you're driving too fast.

The new feature—available in a handful of countries outside North America—notifies motorists when they've exceeded the speed limit.

Launched Tuesday in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, El Salvador, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad, Tobago, and Uruguay, the program is "coming soon" to the rest of the world.

For now, it could come in handy if you're on a business trip or overseas vacation, navigating unfamiliar roads.

Once the update rolls out to your section of the world, open the app and start driving; there are no switches to flip or buttons to press. You can, however, customize the alert to appear when the speed limit is reached, or when your speed exceeds it by 5 percent, 10 percent, or 15 percent.

"If you're driving over the limit, a visual alert will appear on the Waze speedometer" in the lower left corner, Waze said in a blog post. "It will stay there until your speed drops below the limit."

In the meantime, users can tap into other safety features like audio alerts with street names; hands-free, voice-controlled settings; and push notifications about unusual traffic on your route.

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Last week, Waze introduced a new function that warns drivers to slow down and remain cautious when approaching potentially dangerous intersections in five major U.S. cities. Motorists in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., will see a pop-up notification near crossings "that data has determined have the greatest incidence of collisions or injuries," Waze said.

Another recent addition, meanwhile, is Planned Drives, which tells iOS users exactly when to leave to arrive at a destination on time.