Waze.

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September 27th, 2016 at 5:24:07 PM permalink
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545	The love-hate relationship continues. The past two days I select a route, keep the app on and displayed, and by the time I reach the car it changes to another route <sigh> Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER

June 14th, 2017 at 7:18:34 AM permalink

Nareed

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545

Two interesting question about Waze.

1) Does it compare the predicted time with the actual time? naturally this si possible only if one follows the route, and keeps Waze on until the end. But I think it would help check how accurate the predictions are.

2) More complicated. After a trip, Waze now has all the data on traffic, average speed, hazards, etc. for that driver for that trip. One thing the app, or the people who run it, could do is input the original search to the actual variables, then contrast this hindsight prediction with the original one.

Why? To tune the app by finding where mistakes or unanticipated traffic might occur.

Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER

July 5th, 2017 at 11:34:10 AM permalink

Nareed

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545

Waze tips:

1) When approaching a point on the road where there are two usual alternative routes available, check Waze again for times and routes if possible. Sometimes the route you're on is slower by up to three minutes and Waze won't necessarily shift by itself to the "faster" one. Or you might prefer route B though Waze has you on A, and if the times are similar you've got nothing to lose.

2) Always check the "Reports Ahead" tab in the route summary. If it reports "no events on route," then chances are it hasn't taken traffic info into account (unless it's like 3 am, in which case why are you even turning Waze on?)

3) For travel between cities, when traffic isn't really a factor, often Google Maps is the better option.

Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER

October 25th, 2017 at 6:30:46 AM permalink

Nareed

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545

Yesterday when checking routes home, Waze surprised me with estimates ranging from 55 minutes to 1:15 minutes. This seemed too odd, though the reports ahead seemed to back it up. I mean, there was no rainstorm, no big events en-route, or anything else which might explain such level of bad traffic. So i did what I usually do on such situation: kept checking available routes along the way.

Now, there are four reasonable routes to get home. three are of similar length, the fourth is about 20% longer. At a decision point, Waze was suggesting a 5th route, which was nearly twice as long. I ignored it, and took what I thought was the third route.

This one is pretty straightforward once you reach Minas Avenue. However, though Waze had me on Minas, it then indicated several turns. I assumed these were side streets to bypass traffic.

I was wrong. always check the distances in the route summary. I'm not quite sure what Waze did, but it took me 45 minutes, and well over 75% more road, to get home. Worse, it was through a bad neighborhood, with lots of twisty, narrow, two-way streets. This spaghetti routing let me on to an old highway, and thence to a new bypass. Only then did I have a notion of where the hell I was.

Worst of all, I've no idea if traffic along the usual routes was as bad as Waze claimed or not. I would rather have added another 15 minutes. I really don't like to go through an iffy neighborhood I don't know at night, Waze or no Waze.

Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER

November 22nd, 2017 at 10:57:09 AM permalink
Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569	Quote: Nareed Worse, it was through a bad neighborhood, with lots of twisty, narrow, two-way streets. This spaghetti routing let me on to an old highway, and thence to a new bypass. IIRC Waze uses input from drivers to correct routes based on traffic. You have the potential for thugs to steer your car down some sidestreets.

November 22nd, 2017 at 11:01:52 AM permalink

Nareed

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545

Quote: Pacomartin
IIRC Waze uses input from drivers to correct routes based on traffic. You have the potential for thugs to steer your car down some sidestreets.

They said they've fixed that.

Earlier on, Waze would direct traffic to small, residential streets with little traffic. The people living in those streets would get the app, and mark bad traffic to steer commuters away. Waze supposedly tweaked their app to detect such things. I suppose they can measure whether the phone moves and/or was moving after and before making the report, for example.

Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER

November 22nd, 2017 at 1:22:51 PM permalink

Pacomartin

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569

Hmm!

Quote: © 2017 Render Media:Incorrect Directions From Waze GPS App Leads To Tragedy For Brazilian Couple October 8, 2015
Inaccurate directions on a Waze GPS app led an elderly couple traveling in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, into a dangerous neighborhood with tragic results.

Regina Murmura, 70, and her husband Francisco, 69, were planning to meet their daughter for pizza in a touristy beach-side suburb of Rio on the night of Oct. 3, according to the Washington Post. Instead, their Waze cellphone app misdirected them to a nearby slum area run by drug gangs, where someone opened fire on their car. Regina, a travel agent, was killed in the shooting. Her husband escaped unharmed due to the fact that the bullets may have hit silver candlesticks in the trunk instead of him, the couple's daughter, Renata, told Brazilian news site G1, according to the Washington Post. The murder occurred in the Caramujo slum neighborhood of Niteroi, a city across the bay from Rio de Janeiro. Earlier in August, Brazilian actress Fabiana Karla narrowly escaped a similar fate when her car was shot at after GPS directions accidentally led her into the same neighborhood. Waze said they were "incredibly saddened" by the incident, and they plan to meet with Rio authorities this week to discuss what is being done about the risks of driving in the city.

Waze, a free GPS application that can be downloaded onto smartphones, is widely used to help drivers navigate large, sprawling Brazilian cities like Rio, but it does not indicate dangerous or crime-ridden areas to users. "It is difficult to prevent drivers from navigating to a dangerous region if this is the destination selected because people who live in these areas need to get home," a Waze spokesperson said in an email to the Washington Post. The Waze misdirection that led to Regina's death occurred because the app had mistaken the street where the couple intended to go for another road with the same name in the Caramujo slum.

November 22nd, 2017 at 4:34:22 PM permalink
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545	Quote: Pacomartin Hmm! False traffic reports. I've known since the days of clunky stand-alone GS units that they could send you to bad neighborhoods. That's why I was so teed off the other day: I should know better. Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER

November 22nd, 2017 at 4:39:07 PM permalink
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831	Waze's mistaken street name selection means that the guy is just as dead. Software that kills? Not good. Luring trucks to narrow streets and short blocks will increase pilferage as drivers give up and await tow trucks.

February 20th, 2018 at 4:59:51 PM permalink

Nareed

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545

Lately Waze has developed the very annoying habit of locating me in the last place I had Waze on.

For example, I went to the store yesterday before going home. there's really only one route home, so I turned off Waze in the parking lot. The next morning it wanted to set the store as the starting point.

It's close enough to my home that it doesn't matter (it's in fact along the only route out of my home on the way to work). but it's annoying.

Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER

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