Google has agreed to partner with the Federal Railroad Administration on grade crossing safety. Google will use the FRA's GIS data that pinpoints nearly every rail crossing in the country (approximately 250,000) so the tech giant can add audio-visual alerts of an upcoming rail crossing when a driver uses the turn-by-turn navigation feature. FRA Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg has also asked four other major companies that develop map applications-Apple, MapQuest, Garmin and Tom Tom-to partner with the agency. When Feinberg came on board in January, a spate of rail crossing deaths and accidents occurred, "so she decided to take a fresh look at the problem and followed up swiftly with action," FRA said. "Working with these tech companies is part of the effort to help educate drivers. Feinberg is also leveraging her experience as a former Facebook executive and her relationships in Silicon Valley to bring one of the nation's newest industries together with government to solve one of the nation's oldest problems."
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