Observation: Google uses GPS data well to report traffic conditions

[zoiks]

On the way back from LA to Palo Alto we ran into really atrocious traffic on the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend. I mean really bad. We were stop and go for 300 miles or so and at times we were stopped in traffic for as much as 5 minutes at a time. Needless to say, it took forever to get home.
One thing I found about Google traffic is that it is amazingly accurate. It showed the red lines on the map exactly where the cars were stopped and yellow where the cars were moving slowly. I think that was because many people were using Android devices for their Navigation and Google was measuring how fast they were moving and where they were stopped; pinpointing out exactly where the gridlocks were. Needless to say that for the 300 miles we traveled in heavy traffic, we knew exactly to the second where the traffic was going to clear and when it was going to get stuck.
Good use of the data there Google.

 

[Fausto]

Yep. Super handy in a traffic clusterfuck like Atlanta.

 

[dainthomas]

On the way back from LA to Palo Alto we ran into really atrocious traffic on the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend. I mean really bad. We were stop and go for 300 miles or so and at times we were stopped in traffic for as much as 5 minutes at a time. Needless to say, it took forever to get home.
One thing I found about Google traffic is that it is amazingly accurate. It showed the red lines on the map exactly where the cars were stopped and yellow where the cars were moving slowly. I think that was because many people were using Android devices for their Navigation and Google was measuring how fast they were moving and where they were stopped; pinpointing out exactly where the gridlocks were. Needless to say that for the 300 miles we traveled in heavy traffic, we knew exactly to the second where the traffic was going to clear and when it was going to get stuck.
Good use of the data there Google.

Is that how they do it? I always figured they linked to road sensors somehow. Makes sense.

 

[TuxDave]

On the way back from LA to Palo Alto we ran into really atrocious traffic on the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend. I mean really bad. We were stop and go for 300 miles or so and at times we were stopped in traffic for as much as 5 minutes at a time. Needless to say, it took forever to get home.
One thing I found about Google traffic is that it is amazingly accurate. It showed the red lines on the map exactly where the cars were stopped and yellow where the cars were moving slowly. I think that was because many people were using Android devices for their Navigation and Google was measuring how fast they were moving and where they were stopped; pinpointing out exactly where the gridlocks were. Needless to say that for the 300 miles we traveled in heavy traffic, we knew exactly to the second where the traffic was going to clear and when it was going to get stuck.
Good use of the data there Google.

Kind of like the Waze app. Super accurate but too bad for long drives it doesn't give any predictive information so I won't know if Seattle 3 hours from now (time it takes me to drive there) will be a cluster-frak or not.

 

[FelixDeCat]

300 miles? My goodness.

The longest and slowest route I took was in 2006 for the release of Office 2007. I stayed with my nephew and his wife at Ft. Hood and drove to Austin during the morning commute to attend the launch event and get my free software. Apparently most of central Texas lives off 35 South because the normal 90 min drive took almost 200 mins.




300 miles is just insane.

 

[Red Storm]

300 miles is just insane.

I think it's insane that you were willing to go on a 90 minute commute (which then became 200 minutes) just for Office 2007.

 

[zoiks]

300 miles? My goodness.

The longest and slowest route I took was in 2006 for the release of Office 2007. I stayed with my nephew and his wife at Ft. Hood and drove to Austin during the morning commute to attend the launch event and get my free software. Apparently most of central Texas lives off 35 South because the normal 90 min drive took almost 200 mins.




300 miles is just insane.

Yeah. We left at 10am and got home right after midnight.

 

[Imp]

Google Traffic is awesome. If it works the way I think it does (i.e. GPS on phones), does one have to sign up to have themselves linked up, or are they signed up by default?

 

[zoiks]

Google Traffic is awesome. If it works the way I think it does (i.e. GPS on phones), does one have to sign up to have themselves linked up, or are they signed up by default?

You're signed up by default I think. I haven't used my phone's navigation without linking my google account to the phone so I can't say.

 

[Ryland]

Google Traffic is awesome. If it works the way I think it does (i.e. GPS on phones), does one have to sign up to have themselves linked up, or are they signed up by default?

It is a layer in Google Maps.

 

[corwin]

300 miles? My goodness.

The longest and slowest route I took was in 2006 for the release of Office 2007. I stayed with my nephew and his wife at Ft. Hood and drove to Austin during the morning commute to attend the launch event and get my free software. Apparently most of central Texas lives off 35 South because the normal 90 min drive took almost 200 mins.




300 miles is just insane.

You know it's a little weird when someone posts a map and the tiny ass town you live in is on it

I avoid driving to Austin at all costs, the traffic there sucks...that said most all of I35 between Austin and Waco sucks

 

[DrPizza]

We have some horrible traffic jams here on Sunday night. Sometimes, there are 2 or 3 Amish buggies in a row, coming back from their church meetings. Unfortunately, since the Amish generally don't carry cell phones, the Google apps aren't going to help.

 

[Patranus]

Is that how they do it? I always figured they linked to road sensors somehow. Makes sense.

Correct.
They use live data provided by the government and merge that with historical data.

 

[CZroe]

Google Traffic is awesome. If it works the way I think it does (i.e. GPS on phones), does one have to sign up to have themselves linked up, or are they signed up by default?

GPS is disabled by default. Anything that uses locations data gets it from cellular triangulation and WiFi maps and prompts you to enable GPS for more accurate location data. Enabling GPS prompts you to agree to share data with Google. I know that it also continues tracking WiFi hotspots and uses your GPS to get a fix on them for their location database that helps those without GPS, which is why battery life is even worse than GPS alone can explain.

 

[MotF Bane]

It's a little iffy near Boston. Just as good as WBZ though, and available when I want it.

 

[freegeeks]

you can't complain about traffic unless you have seen Moscow traffic
was there few weeks ago and it's getting worse by the month

huge traffic jams 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's a total mess

 

[ElFenix]

Google Traffic is awesome. If it works the way I think it does (i.e. GPS on phones), does one have to sign up to have themselves linked up, or are they signed up by default?

if you use the my location feature in google maps (and that's not just android phones), you're sending them traffic info.

esplanation:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/bright-side-of-sitting-in-traffic.html

 

[SP33Demon]

Droid does.

 

[FelixDeCat]

I think it's insane that you were willing to go on a 90 minute commute (which then became 200 minutes) just for Office 2007.

Actually the trip started in Ft. Worth. Ft. Hood was the overnight stay. Thats an additional 2 1/2 hours north.

 

[FelixDeCat]

You know it's a little weird when someone posts a map and the tiny ass town you live in is on it

I avoid driving to Austin at all costs, the traffic there sucks...that said most all of I35 between Austin and Waco sucks

Curiously, what small town do you live in?

 

[corwin]

Curiously, what small town do you live in?

Temple...about 25 miles from Ft Hood/Killeen

 

[CZroe]

you can't complain about traffic unless you have seen Moscow traffic
was there few weeks ago and it's getting worse by the month

huge traffic jams 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's a total mess

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XihQeZpwqpE&feature=player_embedded

Moscow gridlock starts about 2:00 in and it doesn't faze him.

 

[Train]

Kind of like the Waze app. Super accurate but too bad for long drives it doesn't give any predictive information so I won't know if Seattle 3 hours from now (time it takes me to drive there) will be a cluster-frak or not.

Yahoo maps has a traffic overlay where you can select a time of day and it gives you the predicted speed at that time.

I havent really tested to see how accurate it is though.

 

[bamx2]

+1 for WAZE for local big city (sprawl) traffic .

 

[mmntech]

Google Traffic is unreliable at best. Mostly because it doesn't update in real time, so data gets old fast. Same with Beat the Traffic, which is what I use for work. Waze is better since it crowd sources. Boots on the ground, so you get a view closer to real time.

We're developing our own real time traffic app at work. It also will route you based on traffic conditions. Our system combines cell based flow with crowd sourcing and a traffic desk updating in real time. So inaccurate flow data can be corrected and collisions added on the fly. The public beta doesn't exactly uh... work though. They're still ironing out bugs in the routing engine. So I'm not going to say the name of it. It's a cool concept but it needs a lot of work still.