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Question of the Day: What's the most interesting small town you've visited in South Africa?
Google Maps vs Waze vs Apple Maps vs physical paper maps?
- Thread starter BCoetzer
- Start date
Smiggles
Executive Member
Other: Both Google and Apple maps.
WollieVerstege
Expert Member
Google for live traffic, some reason it is better than Waze although it is the same company.
Waze for reporting on route - potholes, piggies, etc.
Waze for reporting on route - potholes, piggies, etc.
karnuffel
Executive Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2010
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I prefer google maps. Waze has taken me on some weird and wonderful routes before. One of my friends uses Waze and the additional info it gives (like the pothole warnings) looks useful, might want to try that again to see how it behaves with Apple car play.
I have no solid proof but it feels like Apple Maps is not as accurate with identifying traffic congestion.
I have no solid proof but it feels like Apple Maps is not as accurate with identifying traffic congestion.
Google maps - I have no faith in Apple Maps and Waze strikes me as being too jejune.
Paper maps are fine but I haven't packed a road atlas in years. I would if I was travelling to an area without decent cell coverage.
Paper maps are fine but I haven't packed a road atlas in years. I would if I was travelling to an area without decent cell coverage.
HAL 9000
Honorary Master
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No option to choose either a Garmin or TomTom stand-alone portable navigation unit, which does NOT require a permanent internet connection?
Ecco
Honorary Master
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2007
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I recently stopped using google maps, simply because of the state of our roads. The pothole alerts from wave are really handy.
Also i like that waze doesnt track your movements. Google maps, even if not being used, tracks your movement - some may like the summary it gives you at the end of a month etc - but i find it creepy. So my google maps is set to incognito permanently.
Also i like that waze doesnt track your movements. Google maps, even if not being used, tracks your movement - some may like the summary it gives you at the end of a month etc - but i find it creepy. So my google maps is set to incognito permanently.
Added Built-in or stand-alone portable navigation unit as neither require a constant connection to the internet.
konfab
Honorary Master
I use Waze for the work commute as the hazard monitoring is extremely useful.
ld13
Honorary Master
I pre-download the map for the general area I will be in, so even with no signal, I am fine. Nothing beats having a paper map for quick notes and getting a feel for the area though, but the fold-up variety is fine and I struggle to see the need for a proper atlas/book version, unless you are traveling to country X maybe and having it as a backup backup and memento all rolled up into one?
Progenix Oj101
Dealer
I miss paper maps, they were a ton of fun especially when outdated. In the early 2000s, my dad and I were on the road, and suddenly hit an unexpected dead end. We both double and triple checked the map, confirming our location by what we'd recently passed. He checked the date of the map, and... it was nearly 30 years old. The road no longer existed.
I think reliance on GPS affects your sense of direction. My wife can use GPS to get to the same place half a dozen times and still not be able to get there without it. My way of doing it is to check the route on maps.google.com before leaving home (I don't have any GPS apps installed), memorize street names and approximate distances, and then go for it. I do that for everything from local Kempton locations to the drive to her MIL in Durban. Because I'm looking out for turnoffs, street names, etc, I'm also taking note of landmarks along the way. Once I've been somewhere once, I can normally find my way there again, even years later.
I also think not using GPS gives you a better overall sense of direction. Shortly after I moved to Gauteng, we were living in Midrand and went to her uncle's place in Benoni. While there, her phone died so GPS wasn't an option. I guided her home via a completely different route, but without taking wrong turns. She still brings it up to this day.
It is, however, a curse in disguise. I grew up with weekend drives for no reason being a thing, and my dad asking "left, right, or straight?" at every intersection. We'd end up in places we'd never heard of, and doing 300km+ was a fairly typical Saturday. These days, I try to recreate that, but it always ends up with a turn into an "unknown" road suddenly being "FFS, I know where I am" - maybe not the exact road, but at worst the general area.
I think reliance on GPS affects your sense of direction. My wife can use GPS to get to the same place half a dozen times and still not be able to get there without it. My way of doing it is to check the route on maps.google.com before leaving home (I don't have any GPS apps installed), memorize street names and approximate distances, and then go for it. I do that for everything from local Kempton locations to the drive to her MIL in Durban. Because I'm looking out for turnoffs, street names, etc, I'm also taking note of landmarks along the way. Once I've been somewhere once, I can normally find my way there again, even years later.
I also think not using GPS gives you a better overall sense of direction. Shortly after I moved to Gauteng, we were living in Midrand and went to her uncle's place in Benoni. While there, her phone died so GPS wasn't an option. I guided her home via a completely different route, but without taking wrong turns. She still brings it up to this day.
It is, however, a curse in disguise. I grew up with weekend drives for no reason being a thing, and my dad asking "left, right, or straight?" at every intersection. We'd end up in places we'd never heard of, and doing 300km+ was a fairly typical Saturday. These days, I try to recreate that, but it always ends up with a turn into an "unknown" road suddenly being "FFS, I know where I am" - maybe not the exact road, but at worst the general area.
I absolutely hate Waze with a passion.
The reason for that is because it constantly wants to reroute me even after I pre-selected my preferred route to my destination. And the rerouting isn't because of road closures or traffic congestion, I think it does so because I have in the past driven a specific route and now somehow thinks I want to take that route again.
We recently wanted to drive to the Kyalami Racetrack for the Hobby-X exhibition. I thought I would give Waze another opportunity because of the pothole warnings. I entered my destination and selected the suggested route of driving from Sasolburg on the N1 and then take Riviona Road to join up with Woodmead Drive and then carry on to Kyalami.
Shortly after departing from Sasolburg, Waze continuously wanted to reroute us to go on the R59, away from the N1. That happened with each and every road that would have by eventually led us to the R59, and only stopped after we passed the Grasmere Toll Plaza.
Same happened last year when we drove from Harrismith to Sasolburg. We wanted to keep on the N3 up to Heidelberg and then go to Sasolburg via Vereeniging. Each and every time we passed any kind of road with a sign indicating Vereeniging, Waze wanted to us to deviate from the pre-programmed route. I checked; there is no avoidances such as avoiding toll road is set up.
From now on I will stick to Google Maps.
The reason for that is because it constantly wants to reroute me even after I pre-selected my preferred route to my destination. And the rerouting isn't because of road closures or traffic congestion, I think it does so because I have in the past driven a specific route and now somehow thinks I want to take that route again.
We recently wanted to drive to the Kyalami Racetrack for the Hobby-X exhibition. I thought I would give Waze another opportunity because of the pothole warnings. I entered my destination and selected the suggested route of driving from Sasolburg on the N1 and then take Riviona Road to join up with Woodmead Drive and then carry on to Kyalami.
Shortly after departing from Sasolburg, Waze continuously wanted to reroute us to go on the R59, away from the N1. That happened with each and every road that would have by eventually led us to the R59, and only stopped after we passed the Grasmere Toll Plaza.
Same happened last year when we drove from Harrismith to Sasolburg. We wanted to keep on the N3 up to Heidelberg and then go to Sasolburg via Vereeniging. Each and every time we passed any kind of road with a sign indicating Vereeniging, Waze wanted to us to deviate from the pre-programmed route. I checked; there is no avoidances such as avoiding toll road is set up.
From now on I will stick to Google Maps.
Before I go to a somewhat secluded location, I make sure I create an offline map on Google maps for that specific area, to be used in the event of no cellular reception.
CheddarByte
Senior Member
Waze 100% - It's always more up to date in terms of on-the-road warnings.
rustypup
Expert Member
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Even though underpinning is GMaps, Waze by far.
Anyone struggling with Waze re-routes is second guessing - never a great move - or the volume of Waze users in the area is insufficient to feed live stats.
Nice-to-haves: Will pre-alert on delays prior to travelling standard routes, understands when I am outbound/inbound and will select routes accordingly. Can register events via voice. Great night/day UI. Pretty substantial list of pros over GMaps.
Like most of them, alerts are crowdsourced but the app provides some facility to trim alerts to the valuable ones.
Only things I tend to have gripes about:
i) They keep futzing with the UI. Endlessly "improving"
ii) I can't register routes as no-go, eg London road. In ZA this shiat matters. Quicker < Safer
Anyone struggling with Waze re-routes is second guessing - never a great move - or the volume of Waze users in the area is insufficient to feed live stats.
Nice-to-haves: Will pre-alert on delays prior to travelling standard routes, understands when I am outbound/inbound and will select routes accordingly. Can register events via voice. Great night/day UI. Pretty substantial list of pros over GMaps.
Like most of them, alerts are crowdsourced but the app provides some facility to trim alerts to the valuable ones.
Only things I tend to have gripes about:
i) They keep futzing with the UI. Endlessly "improving"
ii) I can't register routes as no-go, eg London road. In ZA this shiat matters. Quicker < Safer
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
Jeez don't know when last I've seen a paper map.
On the bike I use the Garmin but sometimes will have Apple Maps talking into my ear as well just in case.
In the car it's generally Apple Maps but once in a while if the lookup seems possibly wrong I'll do a quick Google Maps just to confirm it's going to the right place.
Been a few years since I haven't been able to find things on Apple Maps, but I guess there's some PTSD from the early days when it would lead you into butt**** nowhere.
On the bike I use the Garmin but sometimes will have Apple Maps talking into my ear as well just in case.
In the car it's generally Apple Maps but once in a while if the lookup seems possibly wrong I'll do a quick Google Maps just to confirm it's going to the right place.
Been a few years since I haven't been able to find things on Apple Maps, but I guess there's some PTSD from the early days when it would lead you into butt**** nowhere.
Cius
Honorary Master
Google maps mostly, however I did use waze for a year or two and it taught me some amazing backroads that are a lot quieter. I stopped using waze after a near accident as I found Waze was more likely to take you to unsafe turns or into dodge areas. Part of the reason that road is quieter. My brother was in a friends car that was in actual accident due to waze. Took them to a right turn on a busy road near a blind corner and they got hit. So many times where in busy traffic waze wants you to turn right somehow across two busy lanes of traffic taking your life into your hands when one road over was a robot where it was safer to turn at cost of a minute or so at most. If Waze had a way to flag turns (and roads/areas) as more or less dangerous and you could set that as a preference I might go back to it but I just prefer google maps these days as they prefer you go to robots to turn. Waze comes with a danger factor. If its in areas I know I could eventually predict where it was taking me and just ignore the stupid instruction going to the easier turn but for getting into new areas it was a pain.