Garmin riders can now share their live location with Waze, which shows nearby drivers a real-time alert that a cyclist is on the road ahead.
What if the cyclist around the next bend could tell your navigation app they were there? That is the idea behind a new collaboration between Garmin and Waze. The partnership links Garmin’s cycling hardware directly to the driving app.
Garmin calls it a first-of-its-kind tie-up. Cyclists using a compatible Garmin Edge bike computer or Garmin smartwatch can now share their location with Waze during outdoor rides. Drivers using the Waze mobile app then see a real-time alert that a cyclist is nearby.
How Live Cycling Alerts Work
The feature builds on LiveTrack, a free Garmin tool that already exists. Until now, LiveTrack let riders share their position with family and friends. Those contacts could follow the rider’s real-time location, speed and planned course.
The new step extends that signal to motorists. Waze calls the result Live Cycling Alerts. Riders need a compatible smartphone running the Garmin Connect app for it to work.
The potential reach is significant. Waze says around 200 million drivers use its app worldwide. Even a fraction of those seeing an alert could put a lot of extra eyes on cyclists.
What Both Companies Are Promising
Both firms frame the feature around safety. Garmin says it aims to increase awareness between riders and motorists by giving drivers real-time visibility of where cyclists are.
Waze, for its part, describes the alert as a heads-up for drivers. The goal, according to the company, is to prompt them to slow down, stay alert and share the road safely. These are the companies’ own stated aims, not measured results. Neither has published data on how drivers respond to the alerts.
The Questions Still Open
The announcement leaves several practical details unanswered. Garmin has not listed which Edge units or smartwatches are compatible. Nor has it said how the alert looks on screen, or whether the feature works in every market.
There is also an obvious limitation. The system only helps when the rider shares their location and the driver happens to be running Waze. A cyclist without a Garmin device, or a motorist using another app, stays invisible to it.
Why It Matters
Most vehicle safety tech relies on the car spotting hazards for itself. This approach flips that. The cyclist broadcasts their presence, and the driver’s navigation app passes it on.
For riders already running LiveTrack, it costs nothing extra and asks little more than a toggle. That low barrier is the real strength here. A safety feature that people actually switch on beats a clever one that sits unused in a settings menu.
