Is Waze for the impatient?

[Anonymous]

My sister swears by it, but it seems ridiculous to me. We had to follow each other somewhere, and she texted that she was going to go around traffic the way Wade was suggesting. I stayed the course and we actually arrived at the exact same time (well, I was at the red light coming from one way as she was pulling in from the other.) She had gone waaay out of her way, even going through quite a few residential neighborhoods. Of course I sat in traffic, which I guess can be frustrating, but it wasn’t as though I arrived that much later than her.

I was discussing his with my husband and he assumed Waze was created for those who would rather drive 25mph and stop at tons of stop signs than sit in traffic at a more direct route. Is this pretty much accurate?

[Anonymous]

I think your husband is right. And that sometimes when you use waze you don't get an accurate set of choices. Like I generally don't look at all 4 possible routes, realize that one is 'faster' but 1 minute but much more elaborate, and then am able to make an educated decision to just go the normal way.

Usually I just turn on Waze and go where I go.

But I prefer to keep moving, sitting in stand still stresses me out. Plus you get to drive through places you might not have seen before.

[Anonymous]

I almost always analyze the route options and pick what makes sense. Sometimes it picks whacky routes that I know won't save me time because of quirks in the road patterns. People who use it on auto-pilot are impatient but also lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I almost always analyze the route options and pick what makes sense. Sometimes it picks whacky routes that I know won't save me time because of quirks in the road patterns. People who use it on auto-pilot are impatient but also lazy.

This. And waze learns from you. So smart drivers using Waze often makes Waze smarter. I’ve taught it shortcuts.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

This is why I stopped using waze and sometimes ignore google maps “shortcuts”. I didn’t know waze could learn from me, but i didn’t like that at the time it was difficult to see other options (this was a few years back so the map may have significantly improved) and that it took me on roads driving 25 mph with stop signs at each block to save 2 minutes or offer a route that is significantly longer (e.g. double miles) but also shorter on time cause it’s highway and speeds are faster.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I almost always analyze the route options and pick what makes sense. Sometimes it picks whacky routes that I know won't save me time because of quirks in the road patterns. People who use it on auto-pilot are impatient but also lazy.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Waze prioritizes keeping your wheels moving, not actually getting there faster. I once had a driver take me through Virginia and then Maryland to get home, from downtown DC to NW DC. It was freaking ridiculous, and all to avoid a 10-block stretch of traffic in Columbia Heights. Now if I'm in a Lyft and they're using it I take over and direct the ride.

[Anonymous]

I use it all the time because you never know when there is an accident or an incident. Sometimes I take the suggestion, sometimes I know that my way is just as fast. Sometimes the difference is just a minute or two but many, MANY times it has saved me from sitting on the beltway for 45 minutes because of an accident.

[Anonymous]

I'm all about keeping the wheels moving. We sometimes drive up to Long Island, NY to visit my wife's family and I sometimes take Rt 15 up through MD and PA, then cut across PA and NJ instead of taking the shorter (distance-wise) and more expensive I-95/NJ Turnpike. Even with delays on the latter route, they probably work out to be the same as far as time traveled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I use it all the time because you never know when there is an accident or an incident. Sometimes I take the suggestion, sometimes I know that my way is just as fast. Sometimes the difference is just a minute or two but many, MANY times it has saved me from sitting on the beltway for 45 minutes because of an accident.

+1

[Anonymous]

We were driving through Atlanta when my husband used Waze to avoid backups on both 75 and the bypass. It took us through some rough neighborhoods way out of the way. And for what? Sure our wheels were moving, but we drove so far west it was ridiculous. I kept wondering if it thought we were going somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waze prioritizes keeping your wheels moving, not actually getting there faster. I once had a driver take me through Virginia and then Maryland to get home, from downtown DC to NW DC. It was freaking ridiculous, and all to avoid a 10-block stretch of traffic in Columbia Heights. Now if I'm in a Lyft and they're using it I take over and direct the ride.

+100

It's all about not stopping for Waze (and if you're in a rideshare and not paying attention, it gives you a sense of "progress" if it feels like the car doesn't stop). I once had an Uber driver use Waze, and it told him to redirect from Mass Ave onto a residential street ... all to get back on Mass from the residential street via a left turn with a turn signal that lasted at most 20 seconds. It took FOREVER vs just sitting on Mass and inching along.

I do like the cop and speed trap alerts, though.