A system and method for alerting a driver of a motor vehicle or a person walking along a road or hiking on a trail of potentially dangerous hazards in their path. Hazards may be deep water, ice, oil slicks or other hazards. In the case of a motor vehicle, the system uses cameras mounted on or within the vehicle to detect potential hazards and then analyzes the images combined with the known topography of the location to evaluate the ability of the vehicle to safely traverse the hazard. In the case of a person walking or hiking, the person may use the camera on a personal mobile device to capture images of the hazard and to combine the images with the known topography at the location to evaluate the danger presented by the hazard.