Siri Apple Navigation Routes

Factual Questions
1

I have a Tom-Tom navigation device. It always chose the fastest route by default, but you could alter it manually. It cautioned against choosing the shortest route because it might mean a lot of streets, lights, and stop signs, and it might track through undesirable areas you would normally avoid.

I now use Siri. I’ll say, “Siri, drive to work.” The problem is that Apple navigation, for some reason, chooses the shortest route by default, not the fastest. If I took the shortest route to work, it would be ten minutes or more longer than the fastest route, which is by interstate for 16 of the 20 miles.

I researched this, and according to what I found, there is no way to force a change in Apple navigation to fastest route. Thing is, I know how smart you guys are, and it is possible that one or more of you has an actual answer.

So, the official question: "Is there a way to change Apple navigation from its default shortest to default fastest route?

2

Apple Maps always defaults to fastest route for me. :man_shrugging:

3

The official answer is no.

Does every direction you ask for default to a shorter route over the fastest, or is it just directions to your work? What are your Maps settings? Do you have Avoid Tolls or Avoid Highways turned on?

4

Wow, I just tested two other destinations, and it chose “fastest”.

I wonder why it picks “shortest” for work? Maybe it actually thinks it is the fastest route. I only use it in case of an accident or something so I can get a warning, so its not a problem. Just weird.

5

It caught me out a few months ago. 130 mile journey became 190 miles as it was roughly 2 mins faster. Thanks for that Siri!

6

Any car navigation system should by default pick the fastest route. That’s what we already did back in the 90s when I was working on routing software. Now, modern systems usually have a lot of options to change the default.

I must say, back then routing algorithms were not as robust as they are today, so mistakes were not uncommon. However the goal was always to get the fastest route.

7

One complication is, if they send 1000 people on the fastest route, it’s not the fastest anymore.

8

Can you direct it to send you via some landmark you know is on the fastest route? Then it might pick that one.

9

It could be something like the shortest route has fewer turns so it’s an “easier” drive.

10

Google Maps can let you select things like “avoid highways” and “avoid tolls”. I think that by default it will choose the shortest route, which occasionally leads to some (= “A LOT”) of zigzagging on local roads.

We were driving to Stratford, Ontario last summer, and got sent on one local road after another for the last bit. Which was annoying, especially as the speed limit on each such road varied widely. I don’t think any were as low as 30 km/hour, but many were 50 km/hour. So every time we made a turn, or saw a speed limit sign, we’d have to mentally translate it to MPH - next time we go, I’ll double check BEFOREHAND how to change my car’s display.

On our return trip, it by default routed us a slightly different way, where we were only on localish roads for about 15 miles/25 km. Much easier driving.

On another recent trip, I was approaching Albany from the west on I-88. It told me to exit the highway, and I zigzagged on local roads before FINALLY rejoining the highway (I-87) north of the city.

I strongly doubt that I saved any time on that Albany trip. The Stratford one may have been 5 minutes shorter (or it may not).

Really, there needs to be a “prefer highway” option, or “easiest driving” or some such. I can tell it to use the most fuel-efficient route - which might be part of the reason for the screwiness.

Then again, some mapping systems are just on crack. I’ve vented here many times about the time it would have had me looping around forever, as it told me to drive right past our hotel, get back on the highway, go 2 exits, and turn around… and the time it told me to turn the wrong direction then make a U-turn; it STILL wants me to turn the wrong way, go to an offramp/local road, effectively making a U-turn, then come right back past where I should have just made a left turn to begin with.

11

Yes, my settings are correct, and I thank those who reminded me to double check just to make sure.

I thought of something that might be an explanation if my assumption that GPS time is measured according to the legal speed limits on the roads it wants you to travel. My “fastest” route is 80% interstate. The legal limit on that interstate is 65 MPH but, because I am traveling away from the city before 6 am, traffic is very light, so I average 85 MPH for that 80% of the trip.

So, maybe my way is “fastest” simply because of the speed I’m traveling at. Perhaps, if I traveled the legal limit, the other route would not only be shorter but faster?

12

IME Google maps uses your driving habits to estimate speed, not the speed limit.

13

Is that true when comparing routes or when you have punched in a route and it shows an ETA? Also, is it true for Apple Maps as well as Google Maps?

14

I don’t use Apple Maps.

Not sure what the other part of your question means.

15

I can’t speak to Apple’s nav, but supposedly Google Maps uses some algorithm that takes prevailing speed into account, when figuring out your arrival time.

One one trip, we were travelling solely on the interstate for hundreds of miles. I was consistently going 5-10 miles per hour above the speed limit.

Over 4 hours, our arrival time would be expected to drop significantly if we went exactly the speed limit - e.g. if we drove 75 and the limit was 65, in 300 miles we’d save something over a half hour. But our arrival time, per Google maps, dropped by only a minute or two.

I obviously don’t know how the mapping software works in determining the best route; I’ve certainly had it pop up a display saying “there’s a faster route available”. The “prevailing speed” theory would explain why it does that. Sometimes I’ll select that, and find it saves me a whopping 1 minute.

Nothing substitutes for common sense and ideally a phone-savvy copilot. I was driving to Lowell, MA solo one summer. The default route is up the eastern route (via Baltimore, and the NJ turnpike, then through Connecticut). We’ve always avoided that route when going to New England - only time we intentionally went that way was when snow was predicted, and we figured the turnpike would be safer than hillier western routes. Anyway, on this one occasion, I was driving my husband’s manual transmission car, solo. Traffic was GREAT, until I crossed over into Connecticut, where it was a parking lot. Needing one hand on the steering wheel and another one on the gearshift, I could not even attempt to touch or react to the nav display. I’m pretty sure Google Maps adjusted my estimated arrival time based on traffic conditions, rather than the speed limit!

16

Apple Maps, to my knowledge, doesn’t use your driving habits to estimate arrival times.

ETAs are based on current traffic conditions as well as historical traffic data. So, that seems to indicate that if everyone is speeding, Maps will take that into account when calculating an ETA.

On the other hand, I’d venture to guess that your going 85 in a 65 is far enough outside of the average speed envelope causing Maps to overestimate your ETA.

On the third hand, if you have chosen to share your routing, traffic and Maps analytical data with Apple, then your speeding is doing its part to make the ETAs faster.

17

Thanks for this input!