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While many Wonder of Tech readers are trying to navigate roads today in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, others have to face traffic nightmares daily in all parts of the world. Google Maps Traffic can help you avoid traffic congestion and show you which roads are flowing smoothly.
Google Maps Traffic is available online at maps.google.com and is a free pre-loaded app on smartphones, the iPad and iPod Touch. Currently, Google Maps Traffic covers United States, France, Britain, Australia, and Canada, with more countries to be added in the future.
On the website, type the location where you want to see traffic conditions in the search bar. Press Enter. Then, in the upper right corner of the map that appears, click on the box that says Traffic. The roads will appear as red, yellow or green, according to the speed of the traffic.
On the Google Maps app, the Show Traffic option is a bit more difficult to find. On iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch), find where you want to search by either typing the address in the search bar or pressing the arrow in the lower left corner if you want the app to find where you are. Once the map appears, press the button in the lower right corner that looks like a piece of paper curled up at the bottom.
The screen will curl up as if you were peeking underneath it, then you can see the Show Traffic button. Press that and you will return to your map filled with green, yellow and red roads (hopefully not too many red roads).
On Android phones, open the Google Maps app and find the location by typing the address in the search bar or by pressing the compass button, if you want the app to find where you are. To show traffic, press the button that looks like stacked pieces of paper. Pressing that button reveals your choices of the layers you want to see. Press Traffic and the roads on the map will appear as green, yellow and red.
As we recover here from Hurricane Irene hitting the Philadelphia area this weekend, many roads are closed due to flooding and fallen trees. Many traffic lights are out at major intersection due to power outages. Google Maps can be an essential tool to help you avoid traffic headaches, before you head out on the roads or on your smartphone when you’re stuck in traffic (though please don’t use this app while driving, safety first!).
Google Maps helped me immensely this morning. I had to drive my daughter to her first day at a new school. Two of the major roads in our area were closed last night due to severe flooding and I had planned a detour that was an hour out of the way to get her to her school on time. But this morning I checked Google Maps Traffic and discovered that one of the local roads that had been closed last night was open. Sure enough, I drove right through, no problem, saving me two hours of driving time.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re headed out for your morning commute, a road trip or a post-hurricane drive, check out Google Maps Traffic to find out traffic conditions and avoid a nightmare!
Have you used Google Maps Traffic to avoid traffic jams or closed roads? Let us know in the Comments Section below!
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Thank you very much for all of your support and for your good wishes this weekend for me and my family as the hurricane hit!
* Image by Alexis Birkill
Great post as always Caroline! We have found the Google Traffic app to be a huge help. Last year we had to spend a lot of time traveling back and forth from Oklahoma City to Austin, Texas & back. The Weekend traffic can be huge and cumbersome between Austin and Dallas and the app was such a huge help. We would actually time our departures from Austin based on the traffic app and congestion listed and I can not tell you the amount of time it saved us and kept us from sitting in traffic for hours. It’s a “must Use” app for anyone who travels in congested areas. Thanks as always and we have been voting for you! Much love!
Hi Ed, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad Google Maps Traffic was very handy for you. A lot of people know about using Google Maps for directions, but I have found many people don’t know about the free traffic feature. Or they may know about using it on the website, but not on their Google Maps app.
Thanks so much, Ed, for your visit, awesome comment and helpful votes. Greatly appreciated! 😀
If this worked in England, I would have a reason to buy a smart phone. We don’t have hurricanes; we have idiots, they are probably as bad… I hate traffic jams. We also have silly road works, ‘improvements’ and diversions. My friend came with me when I went to buy a microwave, I stopped to look at the smart phones; he bought one! 🙂
I need an anaesthetic to part with money! 😛
Great news, Mike! You now have your coveted excuse to get a smartphone! 😀 Google Maps Traffic does work in the UK. In fact, this app was the very reason I got a smartphone. I was stuck for tow hours in the UK on the M40 due to a lane closure. I had just passed an exit when traffic stopped. If I had a smartphone and known about Google Maps Traffic, I could have saved those two hours. Right after that, I got an iPhone.
If you are going to get a smartphone and are considering an iPhone, please wait until Apple announces the next model soon. Even if you don’t get the latest model, the current model should be deeply discounted after the new model is launched.
Thanks so much, Mike, for your visit and brilliant comment!
Hi Carolyn,
I have actually never heard of Google Maps Traffic before. But, I have used Google Maps on my iPhone several times and it has been the answer to my traffic nightmares 🙂
Now that I’m going to Italy, I have borrowed a GPS from a friend. I wanted to use a TomTom (I think it’s a TomTom) that covers everything, because I’ve never been to Rome, and we’ve rented a car. The problem with Google Maps on my iPhone is that I believe that it uses 3G and that will be expensive for me in Italy. I’m not sure if this is the case, you probably know more about this than me 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing Carolyn, I’m going to test it as soon as I’m in the “right” country 🙂
Jens
Hi Jens, If you have access to Wi-Fi in Italy, you can use your iPhone to access the internet and Google Maps. Although Google Maps Traffic isn’t available in Italy yet, Google Maps could help you plan your trip before you get in the car.
We used our Tom Tom in the UK to travel throughout Europe. It was a very handy device. We downloaded the voice of John Cleese onto the Sat Nav, which made our trips a bit more enjoyable!
Thanks so much for your visit and wonderful comment. Have a safe trip! 🙂
At the moment, the only voice I have on the Sat Nav is the voice of Homer Simpson, my wife is going to be so happy when she discovers this 🙂
I’m going to be looking for Wi-Fi in Italy, I have no clue if it’s free Wi-Fi everywhere, or close to nowhere. It’s going to be an interesting vacation in many ways.
Jens
Hi Jens, Homer Simpson, very cool! If you get tired of his voice, you can choose a default voice and the owner of your Tom Tom won’t lose the Homer Simpson voice. But I think that would be a lot of fun to listen to Homer say, “D’oh!” when you make a wrong turn. Not that that will ever happen to you in Italy.
If you’re desperate for Wi-Fi, you can always try to find a Starbucks coffee. But otherwise, stick to the Italian places. Who knows? You might find a lot of free Wi-Fi there.
I can’t wait to hear all about it when you return. You will have a great time exploring all of the pizza places! 🙂
I don’t know how anyone was able to drive anywhere before Google Maps.
The traffic layer is definitely a major time saver. I have two routes I can take to work.
1. The highway route: It’s the most direct and straight forward route, but can sometimes be plagued by traffic and accidents.
2. The scenic route: A bit longer miles wise, but no traffic and nice scenery. Takes about the same amount of time as the first route with normal traffic.
Right before heading home I check the traffic to see how the free ways look. If there is a lot of red, it’s a day I will take the scenic route.
Hi Bryce, What a great story! I can see why you would use Google Maps Traffic every day because it makes such a difference. It must be great to have an alternative route home that is beautiful.
I am really impressed with how accurate Google Maps Traffic is. The information seems very current. We were driving to Philadelphia from Baltimore a week ago and traffic was stopped for a motorcycle procession. Once they went by, the traffic on I-95 was crawling. I wanted to get off the highway and use backroads, but I was afraid those would be jammed by others trying to do the same thing. Google Maps Traffic told us the alternate route was clear. We were able to get off the highway, make good time on the backroads and get back on the highway ahead of the motorcycles. We could follow their progress with Google Maps as the yellow line moved north. More time saved by Google!
Thanks so much, Bryce, for your visit and brilliant comment! 🙂
Trapster should partner up with Google to combine their data. It’d be awesome to have speed traps, enforcement points, nearby pull-overs, and other (dynamic) data show appear on the maps, along with traffic. I’ve driven through states were the cops set up all sorts of traps to push a ticket on to you.
Good tips here… Google seems to have it all, eh? It’s hard not to get excited about what they’re doing these days. 8)
Hi Yomar, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! That’s a unique idea, pairing Trapster with Google Maps. Often the cause of a traffic jam is a police car with a radar gun pointed at vehicles.
Google has had lots of exciting innovations. I can’t wait to find out what’s next for Google!
Thanks for your visit and wonderful comment, Yomar!
I am glad that they release this opportunity and is a major step in cartographic step. Is useful for regular people because you will have a way of checking the traffic flow and chose the right shortcut for yourself in order not to get late somewhere.
I wonder when they will implement this system in my country also.
Hi Radu, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I hope, like Google Earth Street View, Google Maps Traffic expans to other countries. That certainly seems to be Google’s plan. This is a very handy, free service to have, so I hope everyone can have access to it!
Thanks so much, Radu, for your visit and great comment! 🙂
Better than a GPS? Not that I even have one of those… lol… But I use to use Yahoo Maps all the time until they continued to give me wrong information. Every time a friend of mine got lost she called me and I had to look it up on Google Maps. Makes since they would now have an app for this. So for that, I’m thrilled to hear. Hey, I’ve had my moments although very far and few. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this with us Carolyn, as always, on top of all the great stuff out there in the tech world.
Glad to hear you are safe from the horrible weather that just hit your area. So happy to know that you and your family are fine.
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Great question! Is Google Maps better than a GPS? On the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, Google Maps does not give spoken turn by turn directions. The directions only appears as text, so it can’t replace a GPS. But most GPS devices don’t provide live traffic, or charge an annual subscription fee to provide that information. I have used some of these subscription traffic services and they have not been as timely with their traffic information as Google Maps Traffic has.
On Android phones, Google Maps gives spoken turn by turn directions. The app is free, so many people with Android phones don’t bother buying GPS devices.
Thank you very much for your kind words about the blog and your awesome comment, Adrienne!
Google Maps Traffic sounds great. We can never have enough driving tools to help us find our way. I don’t commute that far, but it will be helpful to me when planning short trips or when trying to get into San Francisco.
Hi Cathy, Even if you don’t travel far, Google Maps Traffic can be helpful if your commute involves roads that constantly have problems, like Bryce mentioned in his comment. I used to have to drive a short section of highway (motorway) in England that could be backed up for hours. There was an easy (though slower) alternative road so I got in the habit of checking Google Maps Traffic even for short trips when I was heading out on that road.
Thanks so much for your visit and awesome comment, Cathy!
If you’re looking for a poor man’s navigation app, check out MotionX GPS. I don’t use it but I seem to hear nothing but good things about it: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motionx-gps/id299949744?mt=8
There’s also a free social-powered app called Waze that people seem to like too for navigation and traffic info. Personally, I’m waiting for TomTom to have another price break for their app so i can grab it before my trip starts, as their real traffic updates seem to be the best of the bunch (of course they charge you $20 a year for the pleasure, dweebs). I use Navigon now but their real time traffic routing needs work. Occasionally it works as intended, but when it sucks, it sucks the BIG one, especially in New York. :-X
Hi Lincoln, Great suggestions! I’ve been using MotionX GPS for years, ever since I lived in England and wanted a cheap GPS app for my iPhone. I really should do a review of that app.
Thanks for the other suggestions and helpful advice too. I agree, when real time traffic fails, it can get you into more trouble than what you’re trying to avoid!
Thanks, Lincoln, for your visit, tweets and awesome comment! 🙂
Whoops, that was the wrong MotionX app, there’s actually more than one. This is the one specifically for driving:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motionx-gps-drive/id328095974?mt=8
Interesting to note is that it has traffic updates as well and some are reporting it to be equal, if not better than TomTom. It’s only 99 cents too. Hmmmm, maybe I should give this a try myself. 😀
When I was using the MotionX app, real time traffic wasn’t an option. The 99¢ traffic feature sounds like a great deal. I will have to check that out.
Thanks for the helpful info!
Seems pretty cool – I hope the app works in South Africa. It might but I may be wrong. It’s pretty handy because the traffic reports on the radio are pretty limited to which areas and happen at intervals and not always when you need it.
Hope your daughter enjoys her new school 🙂
Gabz
Hi Gabriella, South Africa doesn’t have the traffic feature yet on the Google Maps website, but I hope it comes to South Africa soon, it’s such a handy service to have.
Thank you for the good wishes for my daughter. So far she is enjoying it.
Thanks, Gabriellea, for your visit and wonderful comment! 🙂
Carolyn, Can I get this on my iPhone ? Or just the web version. I am very bad with directions and always forget. I guess this should be very helpful. PS. I hope ya’ll were not very badly affected by the storm. I heard that it hit parts of Phili.
Hi Eddie, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Great news, the app is already on your iPhone. Google Maps comes pre-loaded. For free! It’s on the home page and called Maps. Check it out, you’ll really enjoy it.
Thanks so much, Eddie, for your visit and comment! 🙂
Oh, So is not a separate app. Its part of Google Maps. Okay. I get it now. I just need to learn to navigate with it then. Thanks Carolyn.
No worries, Eddie. It is confusing because Traffic is part of Google Maps, which is why I keep calling it Google Maps Traffic, instead of just Google Traffic.
But even then it’s confusing because the Google Maps icon on the iPhone just says “Maps” not “Google Maps”. But the good news is, it comes free with the iPhone!
Hi Carolyn,
This reminds me of something I saw on Facebook. Not sure if you’ve read this but I’ll share it anyway:
1: Open Google Maps (maps.google.com)
2: Click on “Get Directions”
3: Type China as your starting point (A)
4: Type Taiwan as your destination (B)
5: Read step 48
enjoy! 🙂
Hi Jam, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Lol, that is very funny, though the funny step was 56 in my list. I guess Google took me the long way! 😉
Thanks so much for your visit and awesome comment!
Now really, you think a guy needs to ask directions? We will ride around for hours to avoid this………:)
Interesting and definitely something handy after a hurricane or anything that could affect traffic.
I will have me one of these some day, I will need it for my new Ferrari.
Hi Bill, I think the point of this service is that guys don’t have to ask for directions, they can just check the Google Maps website or app (when no one is looking, of course!).
Yes, the traffic feature was extremely handy to show me which roads were closed due to local flooding, downed trees, etc. But the app is useful for traffic jams, construction, accidents and anything else that might slow down your new Ferrari!
Thanks so much for your visit, comment and all of your wonderful tweets and votes! You are a huge help and support. 🙂
That’s the ticket, and maybe we could keep it in a plain brown paper bag so nobody would know we are looking at it…….
We could, Bill, but then it would be difficult to see and use. I think you’ll enjoy my review of an app today that lets users hide that they’re using it. Actually, you’re supposed to hide that you’re using my favorite secret app. Now that’s the ticket! 😉
Hey this is really nice information. I was looking for something similar like this. Thanks for this useful information.
Hi Hannamay, I’m glad you found this useful. Thank you very much for your comment and visit! 🙂
I live in Los Angeles and google traffic is nothing short of my life support. I have been able to save so much time by checking google traffic.
Hi SEO Company, I imagine having Google Maps Traffic is almost a necessity in Los Angeles! I’m glad you are able to use it and that it saves you a lot of time.
Thanks so much for your visit and awesome comment! 🙂
Hi Carol…You never fail to impress us with your posts…I know this can really help…
Hi Clark, Thanks so much for your kind words. I’m glad you will be able to use this helpful service! 🙂
Everything is easy now with the help of technology. Absolutely hassle free with the use of google maps especially during rush hours. Coz before, I used to listen to the radio just to know about the traffic update in our place. Now, we could actually spend our time wisely with the use of this app.
Hi Mark, Yes, how many times did I used to wait for the radio station to get to the traffic report, only to discover that they didn’t mention the hours-long back up I was in? Google gives accurate information instantly, which can be a real time saver.
Thanks for your visit and another awesome comment! 🙂
You are right! There are times that their traffic update is a bit on delay since they need to give way to other segments of their radio program. Now internet is already accessible anywhere, anytime… getting updates won’t be a problem anymore.
Hi Mark, You’re right, getting updates on traffic is much more timely than getting them from updates on radio stations. You can still learn more about traffic jams from radio stations, but Google Maps Traffic can be very useful for alerting you to traffic conditions and alternate routes. 🙂
Hi Laura, Yes, everyone in the comments seems to agree that Google Maps Traffic is extremely useful. I hope it helps you too! 🙂
This is so true Google maps is a savior. It helps me to knock off a lot of time on the way to work. The only time I find it doesn’t work is when there’s a jam on all the routes I could take, but thats only happened a few times to me :D. Great post
Hi my fashion, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I completely agree. We have had severe flooding in my area for the past week or so. Google Maps Traffic has been vital in allowing me to avoid flooded roads.
Thanks so much for your visit and wonderful comment 🙂