Traffic and accidents are the last thing you want to experience on a long road trip. When the traffic is backed up for miles, this puts a damper on your plans. There are better ways to spend your time than sitting in traffic.
With 245,000 accident injuries in Texas (the largest continental U.S. state) in 2015 alone, and an average of 90 deaths per day, it’s important to avoid these high traffic and accident areas.
Apps can alert you of accidents and traffic situations lowering your time sitting in traffic, and the risks of entering a potentially dangerous situation. The following apps are the best for traffic and accident alerts:
1. Waze
Waze is more than just a traffic app. The company’s app works as a navigation app that has millions of drivers using the app on the road. The goal is to have real-time feedback from drivers so that you always know what traffic and accidents await ahead.
Waze aims to always provide you with the best route to work and home – or wherever you’re heading.
Alerts are sent if you’re about to:
- Approach an accident
- Drive into a traffic jam
- Encounter police
- Reach road hazards
Think of Waze as your sidekick or friend who always knows the best route to take everywhere you plan on going. Community involvement and edited maps allow for real-time monitoring of all traffic situations.
There’s also a shared gas price feature that’s included in the app that will lead you to the cheapest gas in town.
2. Google Maps
It’s impossible to mention traffic apps and not mention Google Maps. Google puts its tens of billions of dollars to use with Google Maps, and the experience is one of the best. The app works as a navigation system, and for the most part, the directions are flawless.
You’ll come across issues in some remote areas, such as in the mountains, where I live.
Google uses its data to help power Google Maps, and they have a lot of it. You’ll be alerted when there are:
- Toll roads
- Traffic jams
- Accidents
- Road construction
The time estimation feature is also spot-on providing a realistic time, based off of road and traffic conditions, when you can expect to reach your destination.
And if you want to find any of the following, Maps can help:
- Gas stations
- Supermarkets
- Banks
- Restaurants
You can even book reservations through the app. Police warnings are not part of Google Maps, but the navigation features are some of the best in the industry.
3. Voyager: Route Planner
Voyager is another great app that works as a route planner. The app will display routes with the fastest arrival time. What makes this app different from the others is that it’s been designed for an entire voyage, and you don’t need to go through the hassle of ordering stops along the way.
For example, say you wanted to visit New York and go to ten different locations.
You can plug in all of these destinations, and Voyager will be able to find the optimal route to all of your destinations with no further input on your part. The goal is to reduce the amount of time you spend driving so that you can see your must-see attractions and locations.
Data used by the app is based off of Google Maps, so it’s highly accurate.
Voyager is a great route planning app that’s free, but it does have limitations that paid apps eliminate.
4. INRIX
INRIX offers high-end solutions on roadways, but the company’s traffic app is free. The app utilized the Autotelligent cloud platform that is built into many luxury vehicles. Porsches and BMWs use this platform on the road to optimize your route.
The system is smart and will use prediction algorithms to calculate future traffic conditions and traffic jams.
The great thing about this app is that it’s a lot different than the other apps mentioned and rather advanced, too. INRIX will offer:
- Travel times if you wait before departing
- The ability to learn the driver’s driving habits
- The ability to choose the user’s preferred route based off of past data
INRIX doesn’t always choose the fastest route – it adapts to the user’s preferences. The app is free, so the data is sold, but none of the data provides personal information about the user.
