Posted on 06/21/2018 8:21:32 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Driving in DC used to be a nightmare for me until Waze replaced stand still traffic with pleasant drives through picturesque neighborhoods. Unfortunately, residents may not feel a similar delight when they see my car. They’re weary of speeders, noise, and rudeness; and they're fighting back. (I would too, if I couldn't even back out of my driveway) And so, there are rumblings about forcing companies to be "accountable", holding them liable for traffic problems, and even preventing them from reporting certain routes. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we should not be doing.
Southern California Radio recently asked their listeners, "[H]ow could Los Angeles actually hold Waze accountable? What types of regulations should be put in place?" That's no surprise: How many times have you heard someone say, "there ought to be a law?" In a country where the federal code of regulations alone takes up ten shelves of the Library of Congress, this seems to be the conventional wisdom -- even more today than in the time of widespread, privately-run public transit.
Back then, anti-trust and interstate commerce regulations forced electric companies to sell their street car lines. This destroyed the profit margin of the lines, which then had to buy electricity full price from their former parents. Labor laws increased expenses, and road subsidies in the Great Depression set up public transit for the kill. Rightly or wrongly, the automobile eventually became cheaper than public transit.
As if demanding we repeat past mistakes wasn’t enough, some want to drag navigation app makers into court. Aping a Tel Aviv suburb that sued Waze, Los Angeles Councilman Paul Krekorian goaded his city's transportation department into investigating Google and Apple's liability for "causing dangerous traffic conditions in certain neighborhoods.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearmarkets.com ...
Waze saved my butt yesterday.
I check it just about every time I head home from the office to see where the wipe-outs are.
And then cities will build barriers that prevent you from entering those streets. Happened already in the 90s in San Jose and Los Gatos
Waze is a life saver, and just FYI a lot of the data is used in Google Maps as well. (reminder, Waze is owned by Google).
A few weeks ago. my wife ignored a Waze suggestion to avoid a particular interstate, resulting in a tire ruined due to a pot hole. Perhaps the state of California would prefer to be held liable for all the car damage incurred due to their interference with free commerce.
Yesterday, it showed the freeway ahead full of cops ahead.
When I got there, a State cop was in the median tall grass.
Another half mile up was another State cop tucked back behind the overpass.
Waze rocks!
The hangup I have with Waze is that once installed it will continuously track your position. There isn’t an option to do this only while the app is open.
No thanks.
Check your privacy settings on your phone. On mine, when I click on Waze, it gives me 3 options: Never, While Using the App, and Always. I have While Using selected. However, to your point, until I turn off Location Servces in my Privacy setting, I often find that the location is often on. So I manually turn that to Off. I know it’s still tracking me, but it uses up less of my battery.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2013/06/11/four-reasons-for-google-to-buy-waze/#20566097726f
“Unfortunately, residents may not feel a similar delight when they see my car. They’re weary of speeders, noise, and rudeness”
Oh my goodness. Someone dares to use a public street against the wishes of the nearby residents?
Longtime Waze user. Apps like Waze are the natural reaction and consequence to lousy traffic management. Find a way to get rid of it and ten more will spring up.
“The same occurs with Google Maps, Apple Maps and your cell phone 100% of the time with your carrier. Get over it, you constant position is already tracked and there is nothing you can do AND still have your phone with you.”
A few years ago, Free Ways in the SF North Bay area started showing estimated driving times from point A to B to C and to ?.
How they did that was simple.
They followed your vehicle and others with Fast Pass or whatever tracking signal your smartphone or vehicle was transmitting.
Yessir!
Not only does the app allow Wazers to report on accidents, traffic problems, road hazards, etc... It gives us back the “Smokey” detector with pretty good precision.
I’m an 80+ mph traveler and never hog the high speed lane(there is nothing worse that a moron cruising in the left lane at 5 MPH over the limit). Waze users have always been pretty accurate in helping with that.
As for short cuts and alternate routes... I can read a map or just take a moment to zoom in using google maps to find my own alternates and used to do so regularly before discovering Waze.
Heck - Google maps does the same damn thing when there’s an extended wait in traffic ahead.
When I first got my first FastPass for my commute from CT to Framingham MA, back in the day.... the woman ahead of me asked for assurance that she would not receive an automatic ticket by going from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ in too short a time.
If they started that - nobody would use ‘em.
I am not positive about this, but you could go into Settings /Apps/Permissions for Google Maps and turn off/on GPS as needed. Wouldn’t that work?
bookmark
Government is inherently stupid and greedy.
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