12.1The hazard switches

Hazards are things that could stop you or slow you down. Shut roads, roadworks, fires and bad weather all show on the map. Most of them are on when you first open the app.

1. Tap Menu at the top left.
2. Tap Layers along the top of the menu.
3. Scroll to the heading named in the table, and tap a switch.

Two more things are always on, with no switch. Known fires show as red areas. Official warnings show as purple areas.

The app remembers each switch, so it stays the way you leave it.

12.2Road Closures and Roadworks

Road Closures shows live closures from the state road authorities. Roadworks & Delays adds roadworks and places where traffic is held up.

1. Tap a dot or a line.
2. Read the card. It says where, what is happening, any detour, and when it should clear.

The app reads these again when you plan a route or flip a switch. It keeps each answer for about 10 minutes.

Step by step, with pictures: Closed roads, checked for your trip day

12.3Closed Roads & Tracks

Closed Roads & Tracks shows roads and tracks that are shut on your trip day. Some shut every winter. Others are shut by a notice, after a storm or for work.

The list comes from park, forest and road services in every state. Parks Victoria and NSW National Parks are two of them. The app checks it every day.

Shut roads show as red dashed lines. A gate shut for the season shows as a red dot with a white ring.

1. Zoom in on where you're heading.
2. Tap a red dashed line.
3. Read the card.

The card says who closed it, the reason if they give one, and the day it should open again. Tap Read the notice to see the closure for yourself.

What's shut depends on your vehicle. Some roads are marked 4WD only. They stay open to a 4WD, a side by side or a motorbike. They're shut to a caravan, a motorhome or a van.

Step by step, with pictures: Closed roads, checked for your trip day

12.4Your trip date and closures

A road shut today may be open on the day you go. Tell the app your day, and it checks closures for that day instead.

1. Tap Menu, then Route.
2. Scroll to Leaving on, just under Add Stop and Clear.
3. Pick the day you're setting off.

A line under it then says Road closures are checked for, and your date. The red lines on the map change to match that day. If a route is already planned, it plans again.

Plan with AI has the same date, in the box What day are you leaving? Change one, and the other changes too.

Step by step, with pictures: Closed roads, checked for your trip day

12.5How routes go round closures

When you tap Plan Route, the app leaves out roads that are shut on your trip day. The way round may be longer. That's the road being shut.

If a live closure is on your route, the app plans again round it. A note says Rerouted around a closure, and names it. If it can't find a way round, a red note says ROUTE PASSES A REPORTED CLOSURE.

Some closures last only part of the day. Then a card says Closed part of the day. Tap Show detour to go round it, or Use the direct route to keep the road.

If a shut road opens again within six weeks, a card asks what you'd like. It says ROAD CLOSED ON YOUR ROUTE, with the day it opens.

The Route Summary then says what the app did.

Step by step, with pictures: Closed roads, checked for your trip day

12.6Fires

Fire hotspots shows where satellites saw heat in the last two days. The satellites belong to NASA, the United States space agency. It's on to start with.

Hot ground glows yellow through to deep red. Each fire has a label, Active fire, and how long ago it was seen, like 3 h ago. The app checks again every 15 minutes and when you move the map.

1. Tap the glow or its label.
2. Read the card. It shows when it was last seen, how many times, how wide, and how hot.

Known fires show as a red area with a dashed edge and the fire's name. They're always on, with no switch. They're added by hand from reports. The app checks for new ones every 10 minutes and keeps the last list on your phone.

1. Tap a red area.
2. Read the card. It shows when it started, how long it stays on the map, and where the report came from.

If the card says routes go around it, the app tries to keep your route out of that area.

Fires (NSW RFS) adds major fires from the NSW Rural Fire Service. It covers New South Wales only. It's off to start with, and it checks for news every 10 minutes while it's on.

Tap a dot for its alert level, its status, the type of fire and when it was updated.

Step by step, with pictures: See bushfires on your map

12.7Other things on your route

When you plan a route, the Warnings list in the Route Summary also checks for these.

You can see speed cameras too. Under Speed Cameras, tap Show on map. Alert in the drive dash warns you as you get close. The cameras come from OpenStreetMap, a map that people build together. Lots of cameras are missing. No camera on the map does not mean no camera.

12.8Where hazards come from