Favorite Traffic Apps

[Scuba]

I prefer Waze to any of the other apps.

 

[SteveNU]

Just used Google maps this morning after reading this thread. I have been a Waze user for years because I like the different notifications, dynamic rerouting, and the crowdsource aspect of real-time info being fed into the map. But it looks like Google maps had added a lot of the most important features so I'm going to try it out and see how I like it now.

 

[CaptTom]

I gave up on Waze and deleted it. Google Maps is as good or better on the routing and traffic. I found Waze to have enough misses/false positives on police as to be worthless. Also, as an old f@rt, I don't speed much anymore......

To be honest, the speed trap warnings are sort of useless.

The data is just too dynamic. Presumably, someone sees a police care and reports it. Sixty seconds later, they're a mile down the road, and the officer has already pulled someone over.

By the time I get the warning on Google Maps, the officer has finished writing that ticket and set up at another location. Or maybe gone off shift for the day.

It's probably better to always let someone else be the fastest driver on the road. They'll "find" the speed traps for you, in real time.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

To be honest, the speed trap warnings are sort of useless.

The data is just too dynamic. Presumably, someone sees a police care and reports it. Sixty seconds later, they're a mile down the road, and the officer has already pulled someone over.

By the time I get the warning on Google Maps, the officer has finished writing that ticket and set up at another location. Or maybe gone off shift for the day.

It's probably better to always let someone else be the fastest driver on the road. They'll "find" the speed traps for you, in real time.

I disagree. When I going back and forth into Atlanta on an almost daily basis, the police information was pretty robust and correct...probably 75% or more of the time.

 

[CaptTom]

I disagree. When I going back and forth into Atlanta on an almost daily basis, the police information was pretty robust and correct...probably 75% or more of the time.

That's good to hear. On my last road trip (round trip Maine to Pittsburg, about 9.5 hours each way) I got lots of warnings. Mostly they were gone by the time I got there, or had set up in another location. Once or twice I did see someone pulled over. A couple of times I got the warning AFTER I'd passed the police car, or just a few seconds before.

But never once did it warn me in time to slow down, had I been speeding.

Maybe they've improved the algorithm since then, or maybe I was just unlucky. This was my first trip since that feature was added, back in the Spring. I'll keep an eye on it for future trips.

 

[spncity]

I use both simultaneously. Google maps for directions, and Waze is just "on" without directions so that I get the warnings about road hazards, etc.

 

[Momcpa]

Here's a chuckle over the 'speed trap' warning. We're from the Midwest, but was in Florida for a week or so recently. One day, driving to a certain destination, we saw a police car on the side of a pretty busy stretch of road. No policemen in the car. On our return trip to our house later the same day, we noticed that the state (or whoever mows the sides of the road), had mowed AROUND the un-manned police car that was still in the same spot. But the app on my phone indicated that it was a speed trap! Guess someone saw the patrol car and 'assumed' that it had an officer in it waiting to catch speeders and reported the supposed speed trap. Gave us a chuckle.

 

[Bflotomny]

I'm a Google user from almost the beginning. But my daughter who drives in and through San Francisco recently suggested Sigalert. I've used it locally for the many bottle necks at toll stops and traffic. It uses the road side cameras to show real time backups live. My only input then is to go or no go.