4 ms·

In cities with a lot of traffic GPS is useful even for routine trips because it will help route you around traffic jams.

by imgabe 4y ago

MichaelCollins 4y ago
If you're in your own neighborhood then you should be able to re-route yourself once you see traffic ahead. Personally, I don't ever use GPS unless I'm lost. When I'm going someplace new I plan the route using mapping software before I get in the car. I sketch a quick map of the important parts of the routes (particularly street names, major intersections, exit numbers, etc.) Sketching this map commits the major details to memory, then I put the map in my pocket. If I need to refresh my memory then I'll pull over to check my sketched map. I only need to use GPS if I find myself outside of my map. In these cases I'll pull over to use the GPS to locate myself and plot a route back to my planned route. I never use turn-by-turn directions, because I think driving like that is unsafe. I know this is unusual. Somebody once called me a psychopath because I don't listen to music or the radio while driving either. I don't want to zone out while driving, mindlessly following turn-by-turn directions or listening to some song. I think everybody else is just too cavalier about distractions while driving.
- spike021 4y ago
  >If you're in your own neighborhood then you should be able to re-route yourself once you see traffic ahead. How does this answer the other commenter's point? If the grocery store is 2 miles away, wouldn't you rather be routed an alternative route at one mile distance away by GPS that "knows" there's terrible traffic congestion the remaining two blocks of the current route? Especially if those two blocks are after a couple of turns which block your view of them?
  - MichaelCollins 4y ago
    If I don't see the traffic, then the traffic isn't affecting me. If I see the traffic ahead, in my own neighborhood, I reroute myself. Anyway, I think you probably burn more time dicking around with your phone than you could ever save by avoiding traffic on the way to a grocery store that, if you're in a city, is probably within walking distance anyway.
    - spike021 4y ago
      I think you took nothing from my point. The way you describe it, I would think your "route" is just one long stretch on a single street. In almost every normal case, I may not know there's an accident at one intersection until I turn onto the street two blocks away. Also, opening Google or Apple maps with traffic mode turned on takes maybe half a minute at most, which is about the amount of time it takes my car to finish its cold start warm-up before I can start driving.
PebblesRox 4y ago
This reminds me of a time when I was driving a familiar route home. I put on Google maps just in case and it showed a ridiculous route with a total trip time of 10-15 minutes longer than the typical 45 minutes I was expecting. I decided to try my luck with the regular route, thinking it couldn't possibly be that bad. Every exit, the map tried to get me off the highway but I just kept on driving the normal route, nervously hoping that I wasn't dooming myself to a 20-minute traffic jam. I made it home in the normal amount of time without encountering any unusual traffic and only then did I realize I had accidentally enabled "no highways."

In cities with a lot of traffic GPS is useful even for routine trips because it will help route you around traffic jams.

by imgabe 4y ago

In cities with a lot of traffic GPS is useful even for routine trips because it will help route you around traffic jams.

MichaelCollins 4y ago

If you're in your own neighborhood then you should be able to re-route yourself once you see traffic ahead. Personally, I don't ever use GPS unless I'm lost. When I'm going someplace new I plan the route using mapping software before I get in the car. I sketch a quick map of the important parts of the routes (particularly street names, major intersections, exit numbers, etc.) Sketching this map commits the major details to memory, then I put the map in my pocket. If I need to refresh my memory then I'll pull over to check my sketched map. I only need to use GPS if I find myself outside of my map. In these cases I'll pull over to use the GPS to locate myself and plot a route back to my planned route. I never use turn-by-turn directions, because I think driving like that is unsafe. I know this is unusual. Somebody once called me a psychopath because I don't listen to music or the radio while driving either. I don't want to zone out while driving, mindlessly following turn-by-turn directions or listening to some song. I think everybody else is just too cavalier about distractions while driving.

spike021 4y ago
>If you're in your own neighborhood then you should be able to re-route yourself once you see traffic ahead. How does this answer the other commenter's point? If the grocery store is 2 miles away, wouldn't you rather be routed an alternative route at one mile distance away by GPS that "knows" there's terrible traffic congestion the remaining two blocks of the current route? Especially if those two blocks are after a couple of turns which block your view of them?
- MichaelCollins 4y ago
  If I don't see the traffic, then the traffic isn't affecting me. If I see the traffic ahead, in my own neighborhood, I reroute myself. Anyway, I think you probably burn more time dicking around with your phone than you could ever save by avoiding traffic on the way to a grocery store that, if you're in a city, is probably within walking distance anyway.
  - spike021 4y ago
    I think you took nothing from my point. The way you describe it, I would think your "route" is just one long stretch on a single street. In almost every normal case, I may not know there's an accident at one intersection until I turn onto the street two blocks away. Also, opening Google or Apple maps with traffic mode turned on takes maybe half a minute at most, which is about the amount of time it takes my car to finish its cold start warm-up before I can start driving.

PebblesRox 4y ago

This reminds me of a time when I was driving a familiar route home. I put on Google maps just in case and it showed a ridiculous route with a total trip time of 10-15 minutes longer than the typical 45 minutes I was expecting. I decided to try my luck with the regular route, thinking it couldn't possibly be that bad. Every exit, the map tried to get me off the highway but I just kept on driving the normal route, nervously hoping that I wasn't dooming myself to a 20-minute traffic jam. I made it home in the normal amount of time without encountering any unusual traffic and only then did I realize I had accidentally enabled "no highways."