by "deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
Published 02/28/2017 at 17:36
by "deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
Published 02/28/2017 at 17:36
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STARS: 0
Hey, any google maps users in Oppo? I’ve noticed recently whenever I try to use google maps from a PC for trip planning my routes are littered with ‘incidents’, even with traffic turned off. This doesn’t matter much for shorter routes, but for longer routes it really, really sucks. The only workaround I’ve found is to create a map in Google Drive, but that routing is not nearly as flexible as on the full site. Any ideas? Any other route planners that work as well as Google Maps used to?
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/28/2017 at 17:41, STARS: 3
try changing your departure date to the future. Seeing as how Google can’t [yet] see the future, all the “incidents” fall off for me.
"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
02/28/2017 at 17:47, STARS: 0
Oooh, that’s it! Thanks! It also includes ‘estimated traffic’ for that time based on historical traffic, which is also helpful!
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
02/28/2017 at 17:48, STARS: 0
sweet, glad that worked.
"BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind" (briangriffinsprius)
02/28/2017 at 18:00, STARS: 1
People plan out routes...ahead of time? You don’t just plug the address into your phone and follow it blindly? How...novel.
"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
02/28/2017 at 18:11, STARS: 0
Haha.... when I’m going 1500 miles I will try to figure out where I’m stopping ahead of time. Especially helpful for knowing where I’ll be when I need a room. Boston to Florida - and want to go around NYC/Philly traffic. Leaving Thursday mid-day.
"BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind" (briangriffinsprius)
02/28/2017 at 18:16, STARS: 0
Is that...possible? Are you doing 95/78/81/64/95, or some other even more crazy combination of roads?
FWIW, I’m from Philly and work in the Baltimore/DC area; 95/495 around bith cities really isn’t bad if you hit it mid-day. NYC sucks all the time.
"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
02/28/2017 at 18:23, STARS: 0
I’m probably going to take 84 to Scranton, down 81 then 70/270 back over to DC. Then 95 the rest of the way to Florida. By the numbers it’s an hour longer, but I know in reality it will be quicker!
"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
02/28/2017 at 19:14, STARS: 0
What I don’t understand is why no amount of google searching reveals this answer, even in google product forums!
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
02/28/2017 at 23:31, STARS: 1
Google puts more and more features into its products to the point that I’ve given up on their own help cause generally it’s useless cause the posts asking my question are all several years old and the answers no longer apply. The one feature I want to see and repeatedly ask for is a “battleship” mode. I.e. one that doesn’t send you through maneuvers that are impossible with a 3/4-ton crew-cab long bed pulling a 10x25 trailer. Sure, it may be the quickest route to go through Winnipeg, but the trailer’s sitting on both white lines going down Portage, and there’s no way in hell you can make a right turn and then immediately take the next left across three lanes of traffic with only 100' to get that big a unit to the far lane and then turn down the barely-two-lanes-wide-but-one’s-for-parking-and-traffic-somehow-still-goes-both-ways street it’s trying to get you into. And then doesn’t instruct you to attempt a u-turn in your 50'-long unit on that same street because it sent you down another that really was only an alleyway so you didn’t think it was actually your street but the next one’s a one-way in the wrong direction and it doesn’t update quickly enough to tell you you missed the first but the one you’re on dead-ends so you either have to turn around or go backwards. And I’m far from the biggest vehicle out there! Life must be hell for urban truckers.
"merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
03/01/2017 at 05:01, STARS: 0
Have you tried waze? That’s where the alerts come from if I’m not mistaken, and then you can just cut out the google maps altogether?
"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
03/01/2017 at 09:03, STARS: 0
Yes, I’m a big wazer, many many waze points. But Waze is really for ‘getting there’ not for planning. Waze won’t even try for routes over 1000 miles, and using Waze for anything long distance that involves the NYC-Philly stretch of roads pretty much locks it up - too many options and incidents. I’m just trying to drag routes around to see some different times, I’ve done this many times in the past.
FWIW Hammerheadfistpunch nailed it (get it?!) with the suggestion to change the start time in google maps directions to a point in the future. That pulls all of the incidents away and leaves you with ‘optimal’ and ‘estimated traffic based on historical traffic’ route times, which is really ideal for what I’m doing if I put my start time close to my actual planned departure.
What I’m really trying to do is figure out how far I’ll get and where I want to book a hotel for my first night.
editing to add - I just checked my waze points and stats. I used to be in the top 1,000 for waze points in my state (MA), but just checked and I’ve fallen to the top 3,000. Only 300,000 waze points...
"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
03/01/2017 at 09:06, STARS: 0
FWIW truckers typically do NOT use google maps or ‘conventional’ GPS programs. There are special GPS units made for truckers and RVs that have settings to avoid small roads. Search ‘truck and rv gps’ to see what I mean, I’ve seen them before and they do work well.
"merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
03/01/2017 at 10:11, STARS: 0
I understand now. That’s nice that google maps will do the future routes for planning. Good to know.
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
03/01/2017 at 12:42, STARS: 0
Yeah, I can see why.