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Google Maps and Waze

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Re: Google Maps and Waze

#81

Post by dakimov »

lpolovets wrote: post #18

What do others think about the safety of using Waze? One thing that I have noticed is that the app encourages me to interact with it as I'm driving in order to add data to the system. It's a little hypocritical of me to complain about this because sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do, but it still feels weird that Waze actually encourages me to read the screen and interact with…

I think in a proper world Waze would be banned because of its insane idea of encouraging drivers to socially interact during driving. Certainly it is not safe.

Waze has been generally exploiting people's stupidity, people's keen desire for free crap, and corporate dementia.

This is how you do things: by exploiting shortcomings of this world.

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#82

Post by lkrubner »

amalcon wrote: post #26
lpolovets wrote: post #18

What do others think about the safety of using Waze? One thing that I have noticed is that the app encourages me to interact with it as I'm driving in order to add data to the system. It's a little hypocritical of me to complain about this because sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do, but it still feels weird that Waze actually encourages me to read the screen and interact with…

sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do I don't mean to pick on you here. You are clearly aware, but it still needs to be said: Please do not email, text, or even talk on a cell phone while driving. Driving is the most dangerous task that is socially acceptable for nonprofessionals to perform. It is very irresponsible to make such a task any more difficult than it needs to be.

"Please do not email, text, or even talk on a cell phone while driving."

I knew of a woman whose husband was killed while driving to work. In the opposite lane, on a narrow road, was a young woman who, while driving, was trying to put cream cheese onto her bagel, so she could enjoy eating it while driving. She unknowingly veered across the center line and the 2 cars collided, almost directly head on. The guy was killed. The woman was saved by the airbag in her car.

I agree that driving is dangerous. I agree that doing anything that distracts you, while you are driving, is dangerous to yourself and others around you. But I would not want to elevate texting and cell phones above other activities that drivers do -- eating is also a big risk, dropping food on your lap is distracting, etc.

The risk of emphasizing texting as uniquely dangerous is that drivers will start to underestimate the risks of other dangerous things they do.

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#84

Post by Peaker »

a-priori wrote: post #40
bengoodger wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO only when this is treated like DUI will it be taken more seriously. It sounds radical, but the activity is easily avoidable, seriously diminishes your focus and can have horrible consequences.

It's already illegal to use a cell phone while driving in Ontario, Canada. Hands-free devices are still okay, however (I disagree with that part). http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/distracted-driving/

Why do you disagree with hands-free devices? What do you think about conversing with a passenger during driving?

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#85

Post by mikeash »

mililani wrote: post #61
lpolovets wrote: post #18

What do others think about the safety of using Waze? One thing that I have noticed is that the app encourages me to interact with it as I'm driving in order to add data to the system. It's a little hypocritical of me to complain about this because sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do, but it still feels weird that Waze actually encourages me to read the screen and interact with…

Definitely. I was using Waze just the other day on a trip with my wife down to Los Angeles. Fortunately, I was the passenger and guiding my wife through traffic. Two things struck me about Waze: 1) It requires a lot of attention to use. 2) It's not that accurate. I mean, I figured it would be collecting data from Waze users and marking the roads with heavy traffic. But, that wasn't really the case. It DID mark some r…

What about it requires a lot of attention to use? I use it daily and it's set-and-forget for the most part.

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#86

Post by CamperBob2 »

crusso wrote: post #83

I kind of like Waze at very least for the police speed trap notifications. I can't see Google continuing to support that feature.

Agreed. Is their data format open, in the sense that anyone could write a client that did nothing but transmit and receive police locations?

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#87

Post by ezequiel-garzon »

fjabre wrote: post #59
amalcon wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do I don't mean to pick on you here. You are clearly aware, but it still needs to be said: Please do not email, text, or even talk on a cell phone while driving. Driving is the most dangerous task that is socially acceptable for nonprofessionals to perform. It is very irresponsible to make such a task any more difficult than it needs to be.

I text, call, check email, and web all while driving and I bet at least 95% of people on HN do too. If you want this to stop then invent a new way to communicate.

Based on the top replies to the top comment, I believe it's way less than 95% and, like, I certainly hope so.

Your request, moreover, seems very difficult to meet. What about the lady who wanted fresh cream cheese on her bagel while driving, and who doing so killed a man? Shouldn't she say, "well, invent a robot who can feed me while I drive"?

I guess Google's self-driving cars will ultimately satisfy all of the above requests.

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#88

Post by maxerickson »

YokoZar wrote: post #76
bbatchelder wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about listening to the radio, talking to a passenger, or just zoning out and daydreaming? These can all be just as dangerous as using a phone while driving.

It's not clear those are similarly dangerous behaviors. Talking to passengers can prevent falling asleep at the wheel, which may be a bigger net danger than conversational distraction. But the larger answer is perhaps that if you are driving poorly you can be ticketed regardless of the underlying reason.

Ideally, people would not drive when they are fatigued enough to fall asleep at the wheel.

I do realize that the reasons for it are often quite complicated, I don't mean to be dismissive. Such levels of fatigue are something society should be taking a closer look at.

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#89

Post by wizzard »

dylangs1030 wrote: post #11

I'm excited about this. I actually wouldn't mind if Waze was shut down instead of the 3-year period, as long as Google assimilated all of its technology. It would be fantastic to have Google both data mining traffic data (as it does now) and also combining this with user-volunteered traffic reports. Each technology has something to offer the other, and it will be really cool to bring in the best of both worlds. I'm v…

I really don't see Google incorporating all the Waze functionality. Waze is pretty bandwidth-intensive. And I could see some liability issues with presenting crowdsourced data directly on Gmaps.

I feel like this was simply a "keep Waze out of the hands of our competitors" move, and now it will die a slow death like most other Google acquisitions.

Re: Google Maps and Waze

#90

Post by wizzard »

lpolovets wrote: post #18

What do others think about the safety of using Waze? One thing that I have noticed is that the app encourages me to interact with it as I'm driving in order to add data to the system. It's a little hypocritical of me to complain about this because sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do, but it still feels weird that Waze actually encourages me to read the screen and interact with…

I found that most of the time it's prompting you when you're stuck in a traffic jam. It auto-detects that and asks you why you slowed down. Since I was already slowed to a crawl, interacting with it (via voice or tapping a button) wasn't much to ask. It's not like it prompts you every half mile with "how's it going?" or something inane.
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