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The Google Maps app for Android phones and tablets makes navigating your world faster and easier. Find the best spots in town and the information you need to get there. • Comprehensive, accurate maps in 220 countries and territories • Voice-guided GPS navigation for driving, cycling and walking • Public transport directions and maps for over 15,000 towns and cities • Live traffic conditions, incident reports and automatic rerouting to find the best route • Detailed information on more than 100 million places • Street View and indoor imagery for restaurants, museums and more * Some features not available in all countries The city’s department of transportation has been redesigning intersections to make left turns safer by changing signals and incorporating other design measures. But Lander and Rodriguez got the idea to ask Google to help by giving its map users the chance to request a “reduce left turns” routing option. “We haven’t heard back yet,” says Rodriguez. “But we hope, knowing that Google is one of those good private entities, that Google can look at this.” Google did not return our inquiry about the letter by press time. Nationally, a quarter of motor-vehicle crashes involving pedestrians occur during left turns. A 2013 study found that when drivers make “permitted” left turns—in which they do not have the protection of a left-turn green arrow—they are not even looking to see if there is a pedestrian in their path as much as 9 percent of the time. Such turns, the study found, pose an “alarming” level of risk to pedestrians. A “reduce left turns” Google Maps option would be similar to the left-turn reduction practice adopted by UPS way back in 2004—albeit that was in the name of logistical efficiency rather than safety. The package-delivery giant found that making right turns to reach a destination rather than lefts saves time and gas, as much as 10 million gallons of fuel in the first eight years the policy was in effect. Rodriguez says a “stay on truck routes” option would also be helpful in a city where big rigs can pose a serious threat when they stray from designated corridors. In their letter, the council members cite a 2007 study that showed 35 percent of crashes involving trucks in the city happened off of truck routes. In a city with 8 million residents and more than 56 million tourists visiting in 2014, says Rodriguez, traffic safety is a pressing public health issue, and he wants to see it addressed on all fronts. “This is about continual working between the private and public sector,” he says. “The first cause of death for New York City children under 13 is not gangs, it’s not poverty, not violence. It’s being hit by cars and trucks. This is the time for the city to reach out to the private sector, so they can help us to provide information to drivers about where you should avoid making left turns.”