Google maps sat nav issues

[NICK 647063]

Hi All

Just something I’ve noticed recently, I’m not actually a big sat nav user but I often have it set as it shows traffic issues and updates time to end destination, it’s basically just on in the background even though I take my usual routes…

Lately I’ve notice it giving random routes, like tonight from Leeds to York it gives the A64 all the way except it’s route was via the old A64 through Seacroft village, yet I stuck to the A64 and it knocked 3 mins off! Even now it’s advising that route.

I find now when I’m driving along on any journey it’s trying to take me off the most direct route yet when I continue on the time then always recalculates and reduces, it just got me thinking of many just blindly follow these things it could be pushing much more traffic on unsuitable routes.

Have any users found this issue with it? I’ve also noticed Leeds to York now it literally gives one route with no other options.

[Alderpoint]

Go for Waze instead. Far better even through google have owned it for a while now.

[jnty]

I definitely find you can sometimes craft a route that is comparable or occasionally better in terms of estimated time than the suggested route. This could be because it uses some heuristics to avoid having to check every single route and occasionally misses the best one, but I reckon it's more likely that it takes other factors into consideration, like journey time reliability and route complexity. It's always annoying when I occasionally blindly follow a Google route and find myself turning right across a four lane road at rush hour because it reckons it'll save a minute or two - I suspect they do try and avoid that to some degree.

[KeithW]

You need to ensure the google maps permissions include access locations and that you have both the latest version installed. As others have said Waze seems to work better.

[Vierwielen]

I read somewhere that Google estimates the road conditions by tracking the movement of mobile phone users. If might be that there were not enough mobile users on ther road to alert the algorithm of a change of state, or maybe a coach had stopped and Google received notification of 50 stationery mobile that should be on the move.

[Herned]

There was a weird one near me the other day when the traffic was shown in yellow and red on a very quiet rural road. I wondered whether something like a group cycle ride might confuse their algorithm by going much slower along there? There was no traffic at all when I passed by 10 minutes later

[Fenlander]

There was a weird one near me the other day when the traffic was shown in yellow and red on a very quiet rural road. I wondered whether something like a group cycle ride might confuse their algorithm by going much slower along there? There was no traffic at all when I passed by 10 minutes later

It'll stay as red until someone comes along and gets a clean run that changes it back to green again, which was probably you. I probably caused the same friday where I had to queue for a few mins while cows crossed a road, anyone coming after me would see red but an open road when they got there.

[Herned]

It'll stay as red until someone comes along and gets a clean run that changes it back to green again, which was probably you. I probably caused the same friday where I had to queue for a few mins while cows crossed a road, anyone coming after me would see red but an open road when they got there.

Be interesting to know how many vehicles need to travel along a road before it is picked up to be displayed. I have noticed when the M5 is closed here that all sorts of minor roads start having their traffic status displayed which wouldn't normally show up

[KeithW]

Be interesting to know how many vehicles need to travel along a road before it is picked up to be displayed. I have noticed when the M5 is closed here that all sorts of minor roads start having their traffic status displayed which wouldn't normally show up

Tomtom used the same system for their traffic information. in my experience both worked pretty well but Tomtom was more refined, it would identify where the blockage was and how long the delays were. So you would get a report such as 20 minute delay 30 miles ahead on A1 and it would offer an alternative route.

[tom66]

I've had this bug in the past, but it's been fixed now, at least on my iPhone.

It used to suggest a detour that added 5 minutes. I suspect their routing algorithm was just a bit broken - perhaps it applied some high negative weighting for certain routes/nodes incorrectly. (For instance, almost universally unprotected right turns are weighted against unprotected left turns, as they are harder to complete.)