GPS rerouting due to accident

[philh]

I run with a Garmin and Waze. Most the time they agree, sometimes they disagree, but when both tell you to exit now, I'm exiting 🙂

Except, neither one updated fast enough to tell me if I'm going right or left. Wild A** guessed, and got it correct. But what a PITA. It was the 2nd major accident on that day 😞

On another trip, I got off the freeway, walked right into another rush hour/ accident avoidance miles long traffic jam. Knowing the area, took another road 2 miles south, drove about 5 miles west, got back into the alt route, right in front of the truck that was in front of me. Then when I finally got to the freeway, got on right behind the exact same truck I was behind when I first darted off the freeway. It was interesting to see it made zero time difference, but I hate sitting in traffic.

[tomman58]

In my 2015 truck or 2018 car neither of them gives an option for a different route than the one shown on their screen. I've always thought this was something I would've liked and missed in them.

[CavemanCharlie]

SpeakEasy wrote:
I've been burned WAY too many times by GoogleMaps' re-routing. Every time I'm on a road trip I tell myself to ignore its advice about changing routes. I am an easy sell, however, when they tell me that they've found an alternative route that is 20 minutes shorter. ARGH. I feel like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football.

-Speak

I don't know about re-routing but, GoogleMaps is so insistent on saving you every second of drive time that they sometimes take you a more difficult way down worse roads.

I don't travel far and have found it best to look at a map first and then decide which route to take based on the fact that I know the roads. Then I drag the route thing on googlemaps around until it shows me the way I want to go.

For Example: I live in SW MN and have a friend who's son is going to school in Duluth. GoogleMpas wants me to go through down town Minneapolis to get from here to there. By looking at a map and doing some rerouting I found another way to get there without needing to go downtown through the heavy traffic. According to GoogleMaps my route is 15 minutes longer. Oh Well, that is worth it to me so that I don't have to drag my TT though the heavy traffic of Minneapolis.

[SpeakEasy]

I've been burned WAY too many times by GoogleMaps' re-routing. Every time I'm on a road trip I tell myself to ignore its advice about changing routes. I am an easy sell, however, when they tell me that they've found an alternative route that is 20 minutes shorter. ARGH. I feel like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football.

-Speak

[philh]

drsteve wrote:
Drove from Michigan to Kentucky a couple years ago, and Google Maps said to exit because of a ten minute traffic delay ahead. Ignored it, and never saw any sign of a backup. Hour or so later, it warned of another backup, we ignored it, and ended up sitting stationary in traffic for 45 minutes.

That's why I run with Garmin AND Waze. If they agree, it's time to bail. If they don't I tend to follow Waze directions. Used to have Inrex on my old phone, haven't put it on the new one. Purpose for that was the tie breaker.

[drsteve]

Drove from Michigan to Kentucky a couple years ago, and Google Maps said to exit because of a ten minute traffic delay ahead. Ignored it, and never saw any sign of a backup. Hour or so later, it warned of another backup, we ignored it, and ended up sitting stationary in traffic for 45 minutes.

[down_home]

We still have the old Garmin. I posted some of the many misadventures it sent us on. Goat paths, old Stagecoach roads, underwater and backup along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, old Indian traces now underwater, though cornfields, into rivers and creeks, turn around go off US12 and through the country and back on a mile back and so on.

[wa8yxm]

I've done the odd alternative route but In addition to Google Maps on my phone I used IFT navigation rules (I follow Trucks)

If it's possible my preferred method of accident avoidance is the parked method

Headed south in KY the Radio said one but two fatal accidents about 3 1/2 miles down the road. I'm normally in the right land and exit 1/2 mile ahead. I hit the blinker and the guy behind me I'm sure smiled. till I exited and he saw the sea of brake lights ahead.. Nice relaxing supper.sleep.breakfast and the road was clear.

[MrWizard]

I drove with CB radio for many years,it was very handy my smart phone can tell me where the incident and blockage is at, and I can look for a spot too pull off, put Not leave the route I'm taking, I'll pull off at a rest stop, truck stop, or even the shoulder of the highway
And wait it out, it's an RV it's self contained,
Why creep along burning fuel and being frustrated,
I stop and watch the traffic jam go by, sleep eat watch a movie, continue after things are cleared up, same thing as in heavy wind or rain

[time2roll]

mr_andyj wrote:
Overall, if I trust Garmin all the time I am better off than second guessing it.

+1. I tell DW to either trust and follow it or turn it off. Same for any navigation.

[ferndaleflyer]

In addition to wave and gps I have a CB. Saved me more than once.

[mr_andyj]

Garmin has been wrong, but rarely. I have learned to just trust it and ask questions later.
The confusing part that gets me is when I turn it on and it routes me not on the interstate and I think it is wrong, but actually is routing around accidents... Mine will not show accidents that are not on the planned route, so this is a weakness.
Overall, if I trust Garmin all the time I am better off than second guessing it.

[ktmrfs]

I'v3 had a few occasions with accidents and in each time I called onstar and advisor was able to reroute us or tell us when road was expected to be cleared. In each case I told them I was pulling a 35ft trailer and the reroute took that into account.

Our vehicles both have traffic shown on the vehicle gps which also has helped us preemtively avoid a few issues.

[happynow]

Google Maps has saved us significant delays many times over the past 5 years of Full Time Travel. Only once can I recall that it re-routed to an equally bad route. Both routes had bad accidents...
The tie breaker decision for us is if we see many Truckers taking the alternate route, we follow the trucks.
We like the odds.

[gbopp]

I also hate sitting in traffic. That's why I don't go near Chicago. 🙂