Is Waze for the impatient?

[Anonymous]

I usually fire it up before I leave the office to see if any accidents have been reported ahead. Both routes I can take home have me arriving within 2 mins. and .10 of a mile of each other, so there's not a real distance or time savings.

[Anonymous]

Having enjoyed more than one rabbit-warren detour to nowhere with Waze, I use it only to check volume on my preferred route. It is very good for that most of the time and has saved me more than once from going down my usual on ramp into a 12 mile disaster. But I pick my alternative routes myself

[Anonymous]

I hate Waze because it directs so much traffic through my neighborhood, which has roads so narrow that they are essentially one way, given on street parking.

[Anonymous]

It’s garbage in the city. I can always tell when an Uber driver is a clueless suburbanite because they’ll take some crazy route that’s not actually faster with Waze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mostly use Waze for things like figuring out what my best route is to work in the morning (there are several I can take, so I look for which are backed up and which are clear - no sense in adding to a traffic jam). When using it for other trips, I scrutinize the routes they suggest because I hate being sent through a bunch of neighborhood roads to save two minutes when I’m going to lose those two minutes trying to make a left onto a major roadway that has no traffic controls at that intersection.

I also use it to choose from the three or four options available to me to get to work. None of the options involve residential routes, so I usually go with the Waze suggestion.

I also like the warnings of hazards and slow traffic so that you can be prepared. Sure, I don't need to know about every vehicle stopped on shoulder ahead, but sometimes the hazard warnings are helpful. The same is true with jams along your route. I just came back to my office after encountering traffic with some unexpected slowdowns. Using Waze, I was on the lookout for the slowdowns, but some people behind me swerved off the road because they were taken by surprise.

Seriously, people need to stop reporting every vehicle stopped on the shoulder. Unless it’s sitting right in the edge of the travel lane or there’s other good reason to think it might present and obstacle to moving traffic, we don’t need a report. The car sitting ten feet off the side of the road with no one in it doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mostly use Waze for things like figuring out what my best route is to work in the morning (there are several I can take, so I look for which are backed up and which are clear - no sense in adding to a traffic jam). When using it for other trips, I scrutinize the routes they suggest because I hate being sent through a bunch of neighborhood roads to save two minutes when I’m going to lose those two minutes trying to make a left onto a major roadway that has no traffic controls at that intersection.

I also use it to choose from the three or four options available to me to get to work. None of the options involve residential routes, so I usually go with the Waze suggestion.

I also like the warnings of hazards and slow traffic so that you can be prepared. Sure, I don't need to know about every vehicle stopped on shoulder ahead, but sometimes the hazard warnings are helpful. The same is true with jams along your route. I just came back to my office after encountering traffic with some unexpected slowdowns. Using Waze, I was on the lookout for the slowdowns, but some people behind me swerved off the road because they were taken by surprise.

Seriously, people need to stop reporting every vehicle stopped on the shoulder. Unless it’s sitting right in the edge of the travel lane or there’s other good reason to think it might present and obstacle to moving traffic, we don’t need a report. The car sitting ten feet off the side of the road with no one in it doesn’t matter.

But but, I need to report it to Waze, because Waze app!

[Anonymous]

I'd rather arrive 15 min later that my friend who was stuck in stop and go traffic. I hate that type of traffic and it's worth it for me to keep my wheels moving vs arriving somewhere a few.min earlier. I'm not impatient. I just get anxious about stop and go traffic. It can very easily back up into an extremely long delay depending on where you are in the traffic.

[Anonymous]

It's not just Waze. Even Google maps has some penchant for finding the shortest most circuitous route that doesn't save time and is generally confusing. Why am I paralleling a major road through a neighborhood? To avoid lights? The cars built-in GPS constantly suggests that I take local lanes on 495. Really? Using the exit/entrance lanes is faster?

[Anonymous]

It’s saved me from many a speed trap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also for people that want to avoid cops and speed traps.

This is primarily what I use it for. And update on road closures. Sometimes on my commute if it is raining one particular road seems to be closed quite often

[Anonymous]

I find that Waze reports crashes faster than Google Maps. I've had them both open (Waze for cops) and Google Maps won't update anything while Waze will tell me there's a crash reported ahead. It's happened a number of times on 270 where Waze has prompted me to get onto the local lanes and Google Maps would've had me sitting in stopped traffic.

[Anonymous]

Waze can be great and it can also be crazy making. It will take you down side streets and all over the place, even if it means it saves you 1 single minute of time.

Recently was trying to get to the National Harbor from Bethesda and it took me downtown and past the monuments. It was so annoying. I should have stayed on the beltway with the traffic

[Anonymous]

Waze can be a real time saver, but you can't always follow it blindly. There are two basic ways out of our neighborhood and Waze always wants me to take the crazy left hand turn across three lanes of heavy traffic (no traffic light) rather than going out where's there's a traffic light. It has a bad tendency to try left hand turns across busy roads.

Also, you have to check alternate routes regularly or you'll go down some weird side roads just to save a minute (and then not always).

I've also found it helpful for detouring around major incidents while traveling on interstates.

[Anonymous]

I stopped letting Waze take me all around the world to save 1 minute, but I appreciate the map chats when there's a shutdown on GW Parkway and you have no idea why. It actually becomes quite amusing.

[Anonymous]

My time is important