Great App for Smart Phones- WAZE
 

Okay, so I find out I'm a little behind the times as this App, developed by Google, has been out since approximately 2013 .... but perhaps your like me and never heard of it until now.

I test drove the Free App this weekend on the way to and from the Lake starting in Central MA ... that's Rte 290, up 495, Rte3, Rte 93 and into Lakes Region by exit 20 and found it INCREDIBLY accurate .... meaning, it gives advance warning of traffic slow downs,(and if in "Route mode" will offer alternative routing), vehicles on the side of the road, construction areas and my favorite -- police location. This is all done by a network of Facebook active followers so it's fairly up to date and seems quite reliable -- from what we encountered.

My thinking is-- if I spread the word, then the secondary roads (Rte 11, Rte 25, etc.) will become more accurate as more of us use this APP.

REMEMBER -- do not Text and drive -- let your "navigator" do the typing. Supposedly there is a voice recognition Attachment 11966

Attachment 11967feature, but I haven't unscrambled that as yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRXSWXNF-fw

Waze App
 

I use the Waze App quite often and it works well, however as with anything it isn't perfect. Sometimes when you know a route well you are better taking your directions than following Waze. For example when I'm on my way up it always tries to force me to stay on 93 instead of taking 3, then when I go my own way the ETA goes down. This also happens a lot on Long Island (NY) it always tries to force you on the LIE (Rt 495) instead of taking a parkway such as the Northern Pkwy.

Waze is only as good as the number of users who are posting updates. It's pretty cool to use it in a heavily populated area and have it say "Car on the shoulder ahead" and sure enough, there it is.

EXACTLY my point of posting --- perhaps more weekend commuters (such as myself) will start using it and actually "Posting" thus making it more accurate on the northern part of 93 and secondary roads leading the Lake !!


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Two more quick thoughts regarding this APP if you are trying it for the first time --

(1) you do NOT need to set in a "route/Destination" you can simply drive your own route (as we did) and it will follow along with the same Alerts

(2) at least on Apple products, when your done using -- delete the App from your background in addition to simply closing the App --- this will shut down the GPS function as well as the App completely -- if not -- it's quite a battery drain ....... use a power cord while driving !!


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Use it every time we go to/from FL. Great in urban areas and as you note, key highways. But only as good as the user/social input.

We drove from Logan yesterday. Great on 95, marginal on Spaulding Turnpike, useless on Kings Highway. But again, only due to the number of users providing input.

FYI, Google now owns Waze, and in severe instances, will add Waze input to Google Maps.

I use Waze twice, a day 5 days a week for my commute to Cambridge. I can go 2 different main routes, either 93 down to exit 32 in Medford, or Everett Tpk/Rt 3 to 128 to Rt 2. Waze gives me an early read on which route to take, and it is fairly accurate. The ETA during commuting hours is sometimes accurate, other times not so much. But I have been doing this commute for 5 years, so I know what to expect.
With all that said, I highly recommend the Waze app. It really is a great tool.

Grew up off exit 32. My whole life 7-10AM Traffic was a NIGHTMARE!

I said it from day one when I saw waze why doesnt apple (google) maps function the same. And I am excited to hear they eventually will be..

Yep - Great product.
Google bought Waze for $1B in 2013 and have slowly been integrating some of the alerts into the Google Maps product (you can see things like "Accident reported by Waze user").

Also, Facebook doesn't have anything to do with it (except to find your friends). Anyone using Waze or Google Maps will contribute speed/traffic data automatically. I use them both every time we head to the lake(Waze sometimes gets too cluttered and Google is a little less-so).

Yeah, I leave my house by 5AM to try to get ahead of that traffic. I have an alternate route where I get off at exit 33 and head down Governors Ave. That works when it is slow near exit 32.

Waze
 

Thumbs up to the Waze app! Paul and never use our GPS anymore! I am usually the passenger when we travel together and I almost always log on to give reports on the way to the lake. (We travel DW Hwy, to 293, to 93, to 393, to 28 into Alton to 11) We both used Waze on our recent three week road trip to Austin, TX. (A crazy maiden trip in our new to us travel trailer!) It sure was great being alerted to traffic slow downs, Constuction etc. The feature of searching near you when looking for a specific store while on the road is super helpful. During our travels I learned that the parts of the country we traveled through have no idea of what a real pothole is! :laugh:

Waze and The police.
 

Looks like Waze is causing quite a stir.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/...-waze-disabled

That article is over a year old. Generally speaking I tend to side with law enforcement on most matters. But in this case I disagree with them. Why would they care if people travelling on 93 north know that they have a speed trap in the median? It is not a safety issue in that the information does not place the officers in any danger. I guess I could see how maybe it could be different in inner cities or other dangerous areas.

Lest we not forget the days when "CB's" were prevelant.... "Good Buddie... Smokie Bear in the median ahead"

I really don't see much difference with waze other than its on an App

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Speed check
 

I always have to ask about traffic enforcement, are you more interested in giving out tickets (revenue) or in slowing traffic to reasonable speeds? If you know there is an officer watching nearby, don't you check your speed? Shouldn't that be the prime purpose of enforcement?

Personally, I really like the automated radar speed check that blinks if you are a little over the limit and flashes lights when you are more than 5 MPH over. It seems very effective, especially when teamed with occasional ticketing at the site. You can't say you weren't warned!

So WAZE on. :D

Recently purchase a Garmin that not only shows the posted speed limit on the screen it will beep if you are over the limit. However I find the Garmin speed limit is not always true. For instance Elm Street in Lakeport is recorded as 40 mph per Garmin but the actual limit is 30.