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Why doesn't Google Maps (or Waze) offer 3 choices: 1. Fastest route 2. Shortest route 3. Safest route <-- this is the big one The insurance companies would

Why doesn't Google Maps (or Waze) offer 3 choices: 1. Fastest route 2. Shortest route 3. Safest route <-- this is the big one The insurance companies would love it, and I'd love it. The data is out there... I've been asking this for over 10 years.

tonymet 4y ago
Also the "least stressful route"
- IshKebab 4y ago
  They have started suggesting routes with fewer turns.
  - tonymet 4y ago
    which i like, but "least stressful" for me would be avoiding busy intersections, or road construction, areas with lots of accidents, crime-ridden areas. I frequently take more complicated back roads to avoid areas like the above.
alsodumb 4y ago
When the total distance traveled for the shortest vs fastest option is very high, Google always shows both the options (or at least, some versions of them). I think safest route is hard to define, especially given that the data is not dense and may not be relevant (e.g., an intersection had a lot of historical accidents so its technically unsafe based on data but it has been rebuilt recently and there has been no accident since so its currently safe).
maxbond 4y ago
Speculation, but probably their legal department feels like that'd be a sort of implied warranty, and if the route wasn't appreciably safer (what does that even mean? Surely reasonable people/people with a different set of strengths & weaknesses will differ), they might open themselves up to lawsuits? Possibly a similar situation if they claim they can tell one route is safer than another, but then don't give you the safer option?
NotYourLawyer 4y ago
4. Safest route + don’t send me through a bad part of town
- batch12 4y ago
  > don’t send me through a bad part of town Microsoft's attempt was branded as racist[0]. I don't think any of these companies are likely to touch this feature in the US. I did see an article about Waze doing this in Brazil in 2016, but not sure if that's still happening. [0] https://www.npr.org/2012/01/25/145337346/this-app-was-made-for-walking-but-is-it-racist https://www.npr.org/2012/01/25/145337346/this-app-was-made-f...
  - NotYourLawyer 4y ago
    This is why we can’t have nice things.
stickfigure 4y ago
Don't forget "most fun route" which is probably contrary to #3.
- pontilanda 4y ago
  I badly need a "tour" mode
agumonkey 4y ago
Interesting, as a bike commuter, it's something I gradually did manually. And it never occurred to me that they could compute it.

tonymet 4y ago

Also the "least stressful route"

IshKebab 4y ago
They have started suggesting routes with fewer turns.
- tonymet 4y ago
  which i like, but "least stressful" for me would be avoiding busy intersections, or road construction, areas with lots of accidents, crime-ridden areas. I frequently take more complicated back roads to avoid areas like the above.

alsodumb 4y ago

When the total distance traveled for the shortest vs fastest option is very high, Google always shows both the options (or at least, some versions of them). I think safest route is hard to define, especially given that the data is not dense and may not be relevant (e.g., an intersection had a lot of historical accidents so its technically unsafe based on data but it has been rebuilt recently and there has been no accident since so its currently safe).

maxbond 4y ago

Speculation, but probably their legal department feels like that'd be a sort of implied warranty, and if the route wasn't appreciably safer (what does that even mean? Surely reasonable people/people with a different set of strengths & weaknesses will differ), they might open themselves up to lawsuits? Possibly a similar situation if they claim they can tell one route is safer than another, but then don't give you the safer option?

NotYourLawyer 4y ago

4. Safest route + don’t send me through a bad part of town

batch12 4y ago
> don’t send me through a bad part of town Microsoft's attempt was branded as racist[0]. I don't think any of these companies are likely to touch this feature in the US. I did see an article about Waze doing this in Brazil in 2016, but not sure if that's still happening. [0] https://www.npr.org/2012/01/25/145337346/this-app-was-made-for-walking-but-is-it-racist https://www.npr.org/2012/01/25/145337346/this-app-was-made-f...
- NotYourLawyer 4y ago
  This is why we can’t have nice things.

stickfigure 4y ago

Don't forget "most fun route" which is probably contrary to #3.

pontilanda 4y ago
I badly need a "tour" mode

agumonkey 4y ago

Interesting, as a bike commuter, it's something I gradually did manually. And it never occurred to me that they could compute it.