BATON ROUGE, LA – Popular navigation app Waze has reportedly begun alerting Baton Rouge drivers to “shootings along your route,” a feature developers say was added in response to a streak of multiple shootings over the past 4 days in the capital city.
According to regular commuters, the update appears seamlessly alongside familiar notifications like traffic congestion, road debris, and speed traps. One driver said the alerts feel less like breaking news and more like assisted situational awareness, similar to knowing where construction zones or stalled vehicles might slow things down.
City officials praised the app for “meeting residents where they are,” noting that Baton Rouge drivers have grown accustomed to adjusting routes based on a wide range of unpredictable obstacles. “This just gives people more information,” one official said, adding that most residents already assume something is happening somewhere along their commute.
Waze users report the alerts are often vague, offering no details beyond location and timing, which analysts say helps avoid focusing on any single incident while still capturing the broader pattern. “It’s not about what happened,” said one commuter. “It’s about whether I should take Evangeline or Airline Hwy today.”
Baton Rouge commuters have high hopes that avoiding shootings along their route could save 10-12 minutes on their local commutes, which Waze described as “significant under current conditions.”
