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Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Ex Alfa mail

For context, my wife and I have been using Waze regularly for many years. It has proved itself as superior to our in-car satnavs many times, especially in fast changing situations. Yet recently we have both experienced suggested routes that were simply very poor. Luckily in the more serious cases we knew the roads and declined to take them. The problems ranged from being directed onto narrow single track roads, to highly circuitous routes that ended up rejoining the original road a few miles later without avoiding the problem, to actively directing us onto very congested roads that had been like that since we passed them going the other way several hours earlier. Is anyone else experiencing issues or have we simply both been unfortunate?

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - _

I don't like Waze at all. But that's personal. But when I use Google maps and Android auto I get weird routes sometimes.

Edited by _ORB_ on 14/08/2022 at 16:37

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Engineer Andy

I don't like Waze at all. But that's personal. But when I use Google maps and Android auto I get weird routes sometimes.

I too have recently recieved daft route plans in rural areas via Google Maps - both when going on holiday in the SW and more locally when looking for cycling routes in East Anglia.

These included:

1. Taking me down single track (but unrestricted for speed limit) farm tracks.country lanes for the holiday trip when there was no way I could (safely) do 60mph on such road;

2. A cycling trip that the mapping said I couldn't cycle down a road I've gone down several times, yet you can drive down it (it's a reasonable and reasonbly safe B road through a small village). However much I try and force Google Maps to take me down teh road, it diverts the route or doubles back.

Sounds like the OP's Waze mapping service is either using similar software or both using bad data. On the other hand, my otherwise 'defunct' (no traffic levels/accidents/dealsy info available) satnav app on my 'old' Windows Phone, HERE Drive (Maps) still gives the route as it should.

The roads in the area haven't changed in a long time, so that can't be used as an excuse for the satnav providers.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Andrew-T

<< Taking me down single track (but unrestricted for speed limit) farm tracks.country lanes for the holiday trip when there was no way I could (safely) do 60mph on such road >>

Andy, it is silly of you to suggest that the lack of a speed limit could imply that it might be possible to drive at the NSL. Limits were originally intended to protect urban areas (and have recently expanded to cover main roads almost anywhere) but it was never suggested that the posted speed might be sustainable. The limit merely shows that you might be penalised for exceeding it.

Doing 60mph on single-track country lanes would be looking for serious difficulty IMHO ?

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Engineer Andy

<< Taking me down single track (but unrestricted for speed limit) farm tracks.country lanes for the holiday trip when there was no way I could (safely) do 60mph on such road >>

Andy, it is silly of you to suggest that the lack of a speed limit could imply that it might be possible to drive at the NSL. Limits were originally intended to protect urban areas (and have recently expanded to cover main roads almost anywhere) but it was never suggested that the posted speed might be sustainable. The limit merely shows that you might be penalised for exceeding it.

Doing 60mph on single-track country lanes would be looking for serious difficulty IMHO ?

Before you make such remarks, I'd strongly suggest you re-read my comments first.

I was saying precisely that there was no way I could safely do 60mph despite the road being derestricted (i.e. legally allowed to do up to 60) meant that the shorter length of that route was more than offset by the much slower speed I ended up doing to be safe.

Given Google Maps did not know that (it's 'just a road' to it's software) meant that the calculation did not give a realistic journey time, nor did it account for knock-on problems like damage via having to squeeze up against hedges, branches from trees, etc in order to let oncoming vehicles pass.

Some country roads are wide enough (the start of this one was) to safely allow high-er speeds, but the I wrongly assumed the software knew this when obviously it didn't and was just guessing. I had no time to check its validity, especially as my 'run-through' before stting off hours earlier had not directed me that way. I assumed it was because of some incident ahead, but apparently there was none.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Manatee

I've found both Waze and Google Maps very accurate for journey time estimates although dramatic congestion impacts change them of course.

I infer they are both fairly smart regarding average speeds on routes and don't just assume e.g. that all NSLs can be driven at 60/70.

Of the two I prefer Google. Both are usually super reliable but deteriorate significantly without a good data connection. Recently Waze was acting the goat and I switched to Google which was also slow and intermittently unresponsive, I always have offline maps installed for Google but there's only so much it can do without traffic and road closure data.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - alan1302

These included:

1. Taking me down single track (but unrestricted for speed limit) farm tracks.country lanes for the holiday trip when there was no way I could (safely) do 60mph on such road;


Google maps won't expect you to do 60mph on the road - it will know the average speed on that section of road. Usually on roads like that you can cathc up time if you can (safely) push on with your journey.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Engineer Andy

These included:

1. Taking me down single track (but unrestricted for speed limit) farm tracks.country lanes for the holiday trip when there was no way I could (safely) do 60mph on such road;


Google maps won't expect you to do 60mph on the road - it will know the average speed on that section of road.

How? I'd never used it before and it took slightly longer (time-wise) than the route I otherwise would've taken, because of having to slow up significantly for sharp, blind bends, oncoming vehicles, sheep grazing near to the road on open fields, etc, etc. I probably averaged 30 or less over it.

Usually on roads like that you can cathc up time if you can (safely) push on with your journey.

Google Maps has never once tried to divert me down that road until this year, despite me going the same route (past it) over many years whilst going on holiday.

Hopefully it was just a 'trial run' that got false readings from someone who first tried it after being diverted off because of a traffic jam ahead on the normal route, and through my (bad) experience (and others, I suspect) learned not to do so again.

Of course, it didn't know, at least until I gave 'feedback' on the journey as 'directed', that my car now has a few more scratches on it as a result.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - alan1302

These included:

1. Taking me down single track (but unrestricted for speed limit) farm tracks.country lanes for the holiday trip when there was no way I could (safely) do 60mph on such road;


Google maps won't expect you to do 60mph on the road - it will know the average speed on that section of road.

How? I'd never used it before and it took slightly longer (time-wise) than the route I otherwise would've taken, because of having to slow up significantly for sharp, blind bends, oncoming vehicles, sheep grazing near to the road on open fields, etc, etc. I probably averaged 30 or less over it.

Usually on roads like that you can cathc up time if you can (safely) push on with your journey.

Google Maps has never once tried to divert me down that road until this year, despite me going the same route (past it) over many years whilst going on holiday.

Hopefully it was just a 'trial run' that got false readings from someone who first tried it after being diverted off because of a traffic jam ahead on the normal route, and through my (bad) experience (and others, I suspect) learned not to do so again.

Of course, it didn't know, at least until I gave 'feedback' on the journey as 'directed', that my car now has a few more scratches on it as a result.

How will Google know the average speed on that road? They get data from everyone who drives down that road with Google Maps and have allowed tracking. I would have thought the road you used before was busy so Google Maps diverted you - so would have been quicker than had you stayed on the route. It does not need to wait until it has feedback from you though so will have known...it's how they work, they don't need to rely on manual feedback from a user.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Engineer Andy

These included:

1. Taking me down single track (but unrestricted for speed limit) farm tracks.country lanes for the holiday trip when there was no way I could (safely) do 60mph on such road;


Google maps won't expect you to do 60mph on the road - it will know the average speed on that section of road.

How? I'd never used it before and it took slightly longer (time-wise) than the route I otherwise would've taken, because of having to slow up significantly for sharp, blind bends, oncoming vehicles, sheep grazing near to the road on open fields, etc, etc. I probably averaged 30 or less over it.

Usually on roads like that you can cathc up time if you can (safely) push on with your journey.

Google Maps has never once tried to divert me down that road until this year, despite me going the same route (past it) over many years whilst going on holiday.

Hopefully it was just a 'trial run' that got false readings from someone who first tried it after being diverted off because of a traffic jam ahead on the normal route, and through my (bad) experience (and others, I suspect) learned not to do so again.

Of course, it didn't know, at least until I gave 'feedback' on the journey as 'directed', that my car now has a few more scratches on it as a result.

How will Google know the average speed on that road? They get data from everyone who drives down that road with Google Maps and have allowed tracking. I would have thought the road you used before was busy so Google Maps diverted you - so would have been quicker than had you stayed on the route. It does not need to wait until it has feedback from you though so will have known...it's how they work, they don't need to rely on manual feedback from a user.

Presumably at some point someone had to be the first user down that road and to the destination I was going to. That could've easily been me. The 'delay' on the normal route was minor roadworks that weren't delaying traffic much as it was well after the slip-off from the main dual carriageway onto the local road to join the trunk road going the other way. Ironically I was also 'delayed' when rejoining the main trunk road via the 'short cut' because of the normal traffic level and speed of vehicles on that road.

There's a junction where occasionally a slow vehicle at the front cannot get onto the faster moving road and may have contributed to a 'delay' that in reality was intermittant. There's also a local alternative route that only adds a minute to the journey. Because of the extra danger and my unfamiliarity of the mapping route, the Google Maps route took me longer than I have done via the normal route in the past.

Hopefully Google Maps learned from my experience, one way or the other. Hopefully all satnav systems learn, though I suppose it's more difficult when driving on spa***ly used roads, especially if locals (including those operating farm vehicles and [say] riding horses) are using satnavs and thus the system has no idea why a delay has occurred, or whether the driver was driving at a safe speed for the road/conditions.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - mcb100
It does get ‘creative’ sometimes with routes, but it’s making a black/white, yes/no decision to get you to your destination in as short a time as possible.
A road is a road, as far as it’s concerned. A single track road has the same 60mph speed limit as a main road.
I do have the occasional issue of it not knowing where it is at the start of a journey - it thinks it’s where it finished the previous one. That usually needs the app uninstalling and reinstalling.
It’s dependent on being told by Waze users of traffic, so if no one has told it there’s a slow down then it doesn’t know.
Google Maps, on the other hand, I suspect used data from Android phones, real time, given that Google own Android (and also Waze).

Edited by mcb100 on 14/08/2022 at 16:46

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Will deBeast

>> Google Maps, on the other hand, I suspect used data from Android phones, real time, given that Google own Android (and also Waze).

I believe that is right. I remember listening to a podcast several years ago, where a google software engineer was explaining how they filter out the data from the couriers (doing lots of stops) when working out route delays.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Bromptonaut

I've used Google for a long time.

There have certainly been occasions when using it in areas I knew in the past, but am not absolutely up to date with now such as Harrow/Stanmore, where it takes me through what I'd regard as rat runs for only a nugatory gain over following main roads.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - blindspot

just had to update waze yesterday .

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - _

This afternoon travelling from Celles; south of Dinant to Raeren, south of Aachen suddenly decided to take us on the motorway and added 15 Kms to the journey. Tomorrow going Aachen to Bruges via the Brussels ring road. Not looking forward to that.

Edited by _ORB_ on 14/08/2022 at 19:15

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - elekie&a/c doctor
I use Waze most of the time , but with all guidance systems , they occasionally throw a wobbly. Interestingly, last weekend, I needed to go from Euston station to fenchurch st station by black taxi . I punched the route into Waze , the cab driver used a better and quicker route , thanks to his “knowledge “ .
Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Big John

I don't know why really - I've tried but never got on with Waze. I do like Google Maps but my favourite is still Tomtom - I find the traffic data is generally spot on. Complete Brodit mount it integrates with my poverty spec S model Skoda Superb really well.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - dan86

I've always preferred Google maps, I've tried Waze but found Google to offer better routes and better traffic, Google uses live data from all the people using Thier android phones and Google maps plus I did hear it gets some information from local highways agencies etc

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Big John

I've always preferred Google maps,

On more complex journeys I sometimes have both Google Maps and Tomtom on the go. You just have to remember the voice control for each platform. be it "Hello Tomtom" or "Hey Google" - complicated by using "Alexa" to control my music!

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Crickleymal

I use Magic Earth which is free from the Android play store. It's pretty good and you can download maps for wherever you want. Currently I have England, Scotland and Wales but in the past I've also had Wisconsin . However it does occasionally throw a bit of a wobbler and take you down some minor road when I'm sure using a major road for a couple of extra miles would be far quicker. That said the latest updates seem to have decreased it's performance somewhat.

I have tried Google maps but if you deviate from the prescribed course it doesn't seem to recalculate.

Edited by Crickleymal on 15/08/2022 at 00:35

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Ethan Edwards

I use Waze but not for the navigation but for the updates to traffic etc. If there's an accident up ahead Waze knows first..

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Grenache

Me too, I like the updates and warnings, and add them too as I see them.

I find Google maps cantake ages to show when a route clears, I have often crossed roads shown as red on the map but free-flowing in reality

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Engineer Andy

Me too, I like the updates and warnings, and add them too as I see them.

I find Google maps cantake ages to show when a route clears, I have often crossed roads shown as red on the map but free-flowing in reality

I think it relies on Google Maps users driving down the route (possibly in sufficient numbers) to force the software to update the road traffic conditions / status of an dealy incident.

I presume this means this will likely be slower to clear on less-used roads, particularly in rural areas. If it happens on busier roads, then that doesn't say much about the auto reporting facility of Google Maps, given the likely level of usage of that app.

Still, it's still better than it was when I was using it on a work phone about 6 years ago, when it sometimes appeared to be too sensitive and often kept changing routing changes in stop-start traffic on the daily commute.

I often ignored it when driving to/from work, though did consulte it before leaving just to see if there were any incidents and then made my own mind up rather than blindly followed the route it suggested.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - dan86

I have tried Google maps but if you deviate from the prescribed course it doesn't seem to recalculate.

I've never had that issue with it. Now my car has android auto it's much easier to do the maps listen to music etc as I'll have to do is say hey Google

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Manatee

I've always preferred Google maps, I've tried Waze but found Google to offer better routes and better traffic, Google uses live data from all the people using Thier android phones and Google maps plus I did hear it gets some information from local highways agencies etc

Local authorities can and sometimes do provide data on road closures for maintenance. Unfortunately repairs tend to get rescheduled, data aren't updated, often it's possible to get through for large parts of the scheduled closure and it's all a bit hit and miss.

Experience locally suggests Google either scrapes this or gets it from the LA.

www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/highways-roads-a...w

We travel back and forth on the A421 between MK and the A1 quite a bit, two roads both very prone to nighttime road works or even closures. When Google gets it right it's really helpful. When it doesn't, it can get really difficult - all but the most determined attempts to plan a route around it end in being directed back onto the closed road.

Closures aside, and with a good data connection, I think Google does an astonishing job 99.99% of the time. An obvious problem with automatic re-routes is that hordes of people get the same guidance, but the dynamic nature of Google navigation effectively shares out the traffic around alternative diversions. 30 years go I was a very frequent user of the M1 between Yorkshire and London. An M1 closure for an accident would result in the A5 being gridlocked. That seems to happen much less frequently now and I think navigation with traffic data is probably a big factor.

The M25 is a massive challenge - having had a really bad journey from West Herts to West Sussex recently, consequent on very heavy traffic almost all the way from the M40 to the A24, I just set "avoid motorways" for the return journey and had a great drive home in nearly an hour less using the A272 and A283. I suspect Google has a bias towards motorways for reasons of public road policy planning (keep everybody on the main routes).

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Andrew-T

<< 30 years go I was a very frequent user of the M1 between Yorkshire and London. An M1 closure for an accident would result in the A5 being gridlocked. >>

(slightly off topic, but) for many years I have welcomed the existence of our motorway system because of the traffic it diverts from the A-roads, which revert usefully to the level of traffic they were intended for. Equally I have welcomed the M6 almost since the Preston bypass opened, as it gave me acceptable travel times from Cheshire to the Lakes.

But when visiting my daughter near Aylesbury I prefer the A51 / A5 route, never setting wheel on motorway for the whole journey. No doubt it takes longer, but it's much less stressful, more enjoyable, and I have no time pressures ...

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Archie35

I don't know why really - I've tried but never got on with Waze. I do like Google Maps but my favourite is still Tomtom - I find the traffic data is generally spot on. Complete Brodit mount it integrates with my poverty spec S model Skoda Superb really well.

Completely agree. I am constantly astonished how accurate Tomtom's traffic data is, better than google's. Like someone else also said, on longer routes or ones where I am expecting traffic I often run them in parallel (Tomtom on its device on the windscreen, getting traffic updates over my phone, and google maps via Android Auto onto the car display), and where there is a difference Tomtom is always more accurate. I have tried Waze, and it often proposes odd routes which I know from local knowledge are less good, so I rarely bother with it any more.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Brit_in_Germany

Shouldn't be too bad today as it's a public holiday in Belgium.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - John F

I would never travel anywhere without a three mile to the inch road atlas.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Andrew-T

I would never travel anywhere without a three mile to the inch road atlas.

You need a bigger scale, John - the Philip's Navigator for example. Problem is that so few people rely on hardcopy now that the latest edition is several years out of date .... and I guess it may be the last ....

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Theophilus

I would never travel anywhere without a three mile to the inch road atlas.

Ah, a man after my own heart. But I find that it tends to slip onto the dashboard when I prop it in front of me on the windscreen :-)

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - movilogo

Yes, Google Maps, which very good in general, sometimes behave strange.

Most recent being advising me to leave M25 saying it is closed between next 2 junctions. As I did not see any gantry text telling me same thing, I decided to ignore and continue on M25.

There is no issue at all. It is still a mystery why Google thought M25 closed!

AI can be fooled often easily. Someone took 10 mobiles phones with navigation app on and walked slowly besides a main road with phones on his backpack.

After few minutes, noting 10+ phones moving very slowly, Google start telling other motorists around that area to avoid that route because of traffic jam!

I no longer look at paper atlas any more. However, when travelling overseas, I usually carry an offline map so that I can navigate internet without Google Maps.

I found Maps.Me and Here Maps good for this purpose.

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - Big John

I would never travel anywhere without a three mile to the inch road atlas.

The problem is the atlas doesn't show live traffic - the technology (mainly Tomtom for me) has saved many many hours of my life eg I once swerved a 1hr 42min delay on the main A2 in Switzerland. Saying that I still keep an atlas in the car!

Is anyone else experiencing very unreliable route - Waze navigation - _

Shouldn't be too bad today as it's a public holiday in Belgium.

Not too bad. Just a hgv took out a car on the entry to the Brussels ring. Only accident so far.

Didn't drive into Germany. Bus no 14 went from outside hotel in eynatten near Raeren direct into Aachen centre. Saved the hassle of the sticker and the horrendous costs of parking.