Google maps... what IS it good for?

It's an aid. Use it with your other things to help you plan. It's not an all in one fix. Also it seems you work for a company. If they tell you to go from Weed to Portland via NYC then go that way and don't question it. If you want to run your own routes then buy a truck and work for yourself.

 

Thats not his concern.. His concern is that his company sends him (and pays him) via google maps… Google maps is often times not safe for a truck.. His concern is valid

 

LTL/food service. If you ever cover a run you don't know its very helpful so you know what to expect before you pull in

 

Precisely how I'll use Google Maps. It's traffic speed/congestion indicators are usually updated roughly every fifteen minutes (it seems to me, anyway), and the crash and road work indicators are typically quite accurate. The only thing better would be if those indicators included lane closures or which shoulder an accident happened on, but those aren't things most four wheeler drivers think of.

I run a route between Murfreesboro, TN and Kalamazoo, MI, and when I'm coming through the Nashville area, a quick glance at Google Maps' traffic info is a big factor in whether I take TN155 to bypass downtown, or say screw it and route down TN109 and avoid Nashville like the plague altogether. Though, that does seem like the best option anyhow...

 

Not to mention, while you are correct that Google maps may not give the best route, it's still tons better to get paid driveway to driveway instead of the very common pcmiler zip to zip that is frequently 10% short on miles.

-Steven

 

There is an app called smarttruckroute that is based off google navigation. You put in your height and weight and it finds the truck route. Its pretty good, but you need a subscription

 

I agree with you in regards to safety. However his company told him to run I5. He took another route. Not sure how his company was telling him to go an unsafe route?

 

Fair point.. I don't know I5 or anything like that.. I'm only saying that for a company to rely on Google maps (not sure if google maps sent him down I5 or not) for routing (even though I really like google maps) is a legit concern

 

I didn't say unsafe... In this case, the route I took was faster by about an hour because I was not spending as much time in the hills...

On another csse, I was instructed to use a specific route and had weight warnings at 4 different points.

 

I had it.. It was garbage