New: see the fuel for every day of your trip. How it works
Hazards and closures

12Hazards and closures

See shut roads, fires and other hazards before you go. Set your trip day, and the app checks closures for that day.

12.1The hazard switches

Hazards are things that could stop you or slow you down. Shut roads, roadworks, fires and earthquakes 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.
The closure switches on the Layers tab.
The closure switches on the Layers tab.
SwitchUnder the headingOn to start withWhat it shows
Road ClosuresTravelYesNo live feed yet, so it stays empty for now.
Roadworks & DelaysTravelNoRoadworks and hold ups.
Closed Roads & TracksTravelYesMountain passes shut for winter, and roads shut by a notice.
Quakes (EMSC)Trails & LandNoRecent earthquakes.
Fire hotspotsTrails & LandYesHeat seen by satellites in the last two days.
Show on mapSpeed CamerasNoSpeed and red light cameras that stay in one place.

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.

NoteZoomed far out, Road Closures and Closed Roads & Tracks say zoom in. Zoom in closer to see them.

12.2Road Closures and Roadworks

Road Closures has the words No live feed yet beside it. There's no live closure feed for Europe in the app yet, so it stays empty. Roadworks & Delays is empty for the same reason.

The closures you see come from Closed Roads & Tracks, which is checked every day.

CautionCheck with the road authority of each country before you go. Many closures aren't in the app.

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

12.3Closed Roads & Tracks

Closed Roads & Tracks shows roads shut on your trip day. Most are mountain passes shut for winter. It's checked every day.

Pass dates come from OpenStreetMap, a map that people build together. Closures also come from road services in a few countries. They include France, Spain, Finland, Iceland, South Tyrol and Tyrol.

Some roads are marked 4WD only. They stay open to a 4x4 or a motorbike. They're shut to a caravan, a campervan or a motorhome.

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.
A shut road, drawn as a red dashed line.
A shut road, drawn as a red dashed line.
Card headingWhat it means
ROAD CLOSEDThe road is shut by a notice.
SHUT FOR THE SEASONThe road is shut for part of the year.
SNOW GATE SHUTA gate is shut for snow.
4WD ONLYOnly four wheel drives and bikes may use it.
RESTRICTEDOnly some vehicles may use it.

The card says who sets the dates, the season it's open, and the day it opens again. Tap Read the notice to see it for yourself.

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.
Leaving on, on the Route tab.
Leaving on, on the Route tab.

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.

Pick your vehicle, then Plan Route.
Pick your vehicle, then Plan Route.
NoteYou can't pick a day in the past. Tap Clear on the Route tab to go back to today.

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.

ButtonWhat it does
Route around itPlans another way. A stop on the shut road is taken off.
I'll take itKeeps the road on your route, marked in yellow.

The Route Summary then says what the app did.

NoteWhat it means
Closing soonA road on your route is open on your day but shuts within six weeks.
Shut for the season, reroutingA road was shut, so the route goes another way.
A closure sits at one of your stopsMove that stop off the shut road.
This route passes a reported road closureNo way round was found. Check with the road authority first.
WarningClosures can start with no notice, after a fire, flood or storm. The app only knows what's been published. Obey every sign and every closed gate on the road.

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.

Fire hotspots, on the Layers tab.
Fire hotspots, on the Layers tab.

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.

NoteThere's no separate fire service layer for Europe. Fire hotspots and known fires are what the app has.
WarningA hotspot is where a satellite saw heat, not the edge of the fire. Cloud and smoke can hide a fire. Follow your local fire service for warnings and closures.

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

12.7Earthquakes

Quakes (EMSC) shows recent earthquakes of size 3.5 or more. EMSC is the European earthquake centre. The switch is under Trails & Land, and it's off to start with.

It shows the latest 200 quakes across Europe. Bigger quakes have bigger dots. Red is the strongest, then amber, then yellow.

  1. Tap a dot.
  2. Read the card. It shows the size, the depth and the area.
On the cardWhat it means
MagnitudeHow big the quake was.
DepthHow far under the ground it started, in km.
RegionThe area where it happened.

While it's on, the app checks for new quakes every 10 minutes.

12.8Other things on your route

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

WarningWhat it means
Gates or barriers on routeGates are marked in amber. Some may be locked. Leave every gate as you found it.
River crossings on routeMarked in blue. The map doesn't know how deep the water is.
ROAD CLOSED, and a placeA live closure close to your route.
Delays, and a placeA hold up close to your route.

You can see speed cameras too. Under Speed Cameras, tap Show on map. Alert in navigation 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.

NoteThese checks use map data, which can be out of date. What you see on the road comes first.

12.9Where hazards come from

LayerWhere it comes fromHow fresh
Closed Roads & TracksOpenStreetMap and national road servicesChecked every day
Quakes (EMSC)European earthquake centreEvery 10 minutes while on
Fire hotspotsNASA satellitesEvery 15 minutes, covering the last two days
Known firesAdded by hand from reportsEvery 10 minutes
Speed camerasOpenStreetMapKept in the app, not live
CautionLive hazards don't update with no signal. Known fires show the last list your phone saw. Check again before you lose signal.
NoteA downloaded map carries the list of closed roads, so the closure check still works with no signal.

Free for 14 days. Cancel any time.

Get started Already have Motocamp EU? Open it here