Last weekend we drove to Pittsburgh for an event. The two routes I’d normally choose between each had issues, so I looked at Waze and Google Maps to see which route would be quicker.
For the usual one hour drive, both apps estimated close to two hours for the trip. However, a third route using secondary streets (which I would have never thought of) was only 65 minutes! It worked out perfectly.
But that got me wondering how this could affect traffic flow if a large enough percentage of drivers had access to and used the information. I’m assuming there are people who know about this sorta thing.
That’s the exact same article I was about to link.
A related question is whether these apps make traffic in general flow better, because fewer people might be going into traffic jams, as they use the apps to avoid them.
There’s an opportunity to use the same effect in a positive way.
I don’t know what happened with it, but TomTom were muttering a few years ago about how, once everyone had a TomTom GPS, there would be no more traffic jams - the central TomTom systems would know where all the cars were, where they were going and the traffic status on the roads, and would load-balance the routes accordingly.
Clearly, this would require drivers to do as they’re told, rather than choosing their own route. Anecdotal evidence, gathered while stationary on the motorways of Britain, would suggest that they haven’t cracked it yet.
I still think if all the various satnav manufacturers participated in a central scheme like this, and persuaded drivers to trust the route planning, it could work. I’m not holding my breath though.
People are looking Forward to the day a central computer will know EXACTLY where they are?
Of course, the computer will be absolutely secure - after all, the only access to it by a few million sensors spread all over the country. What could go wrong?
Between security and the tendency of some to blindly follow a machine’s instruction (“Turn Left” OK - ooopps, no road there), it should be a real giggle.
Sometimes, it is a benefit to know you will not see the future…
There have been issues with Waze, to the point that local residence report traffic jams on that app on those residential blocks to prevent routing traffic through that area (something that seems easy to block on the Waze end, as in ignore those people if they report too many false things as other wazers will correct them). So it is affecting traffic patterns. Waze also said it will only reroute a limited number of people as if you reroute everyone they will just jam up the alternate.
To the point about the future where we will follow the computer. I don’t think that person has a firm grip on what this technology is, it’s a blending of humanity with the digital world, an extension of our senses for us to use for what it is - if you want to take your favorite route then do it, the computer will have to deal with it and will. With waze the information is not from a centralized computer, but from other people. It is also self correcting, as in if there was a effort to have people avoid a certain route, people will find out and talk about it alerting others, and that service will fall to the wayside, so it is also self correcting of abuse.
I bought a GPS shortly after they became available. Using it to find an address on Pittsburgh’s west end, I was told to make a right turn, but the block was torn up. I was driving a Jeep Wrangler and feeling silly, so I turned and slowly navigated the street.
When I reached the end of the block a police car was waiting for me. He asked what the hell I thought I was doing. I showed him my GPS and said the device told me to turn. Luckily, he had a sense of humor.
On the other hand, when I was coming back from Napa Google told me to turn into an office park. I thought it was nuts - until I met a gigantic backup at a light which I could have avoided following its instructions. Right after that it told me to take an indirect route to I80 - which this time I did, and while I wound up further east than the entrance I had planned on, the traffic was much better. A reasonable number of cars were with me, I suspect from following directions, so this is an example of the situation asked about in the OP. Dramatically no, but I think the directions did affect traffic.