Driving in traffic can be a nightmare. During your morning commute, everyone is trying to get to work, and at night everyone is trying to get home. But what if there was an app that could help you shave a couple minutes off your regular commutes?
The app is called Waze, and it works to give you real time traffic reports that “contribute to the common good out there on the road.”
According to the website, the app “connects drivers to one another, we help people create local driving communities that work together to improve the quality of everyone’s daily driving. That might mean helping them avoid the frustration of sitting in traffic, cluing them in to a police trap, or shaving five minutes off of their regular commute by showing them new routes they never even knew about.”
The app will provide real time traffic reports. To access these reports, all you have to do is hit the report button and then click “all reports.” You can also choose individual reports on police, traffic, accidents, and hazards that are in your area or on your route.
Not only does the app clue you into traffic reports, it will also give you real time gas prices for gas stations in your area.
Waze is simple to use and goes to work while you are driving. According to the website, “After typing in their destination address, users just drive with the app open on their phone to passively contribute traffic and other road data, but they can also take a more active role by sharing road reports on accidents, police
traps, or any other hazards along the way, helping to give other users in the area a ‘heads-up’ about what’s to come.” The app always stays up to date thanks to its community of online map editors.
The more you use Waze, the more it gets to know your habits. The app pays attention to the locations you mark as favorites and learns your driving routes. This allows the app to personalize your experience.
“Whether you’re commuting from home and work, or doing your weekly grocery run, Waze may just greet you with a friendly message that contains your likely destination.” When this happens all you have to do is click yes and start driving.
The app encourages its users to suggest edits to the area maps near you. To do this, visit Livemap, find the area or type in the address for the area you would like to edit, click and hold, and then choose report a problem. Now you can suggest an edit or simply report a problem in the area.
Waze is free for download on both iOS and Android devices.
Featured Image by Will Keightley on Flickr
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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