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ignatius345

macrumors 604
Original poster
Aug 20, 2015
7,618
13,028
What's the best way to get traffic alerts before I leave? I regularly take about a 20 minute drive to take the kid to day care. 95% of the time it takes 20 minutes, but every once in a where there's a crash or something, and we've gotten caught with it taking a full hour.

What I'd like is to get an alert if something happens along my planned route around the time we're travelling so we don't get caught up in the traffic. I don't see any option with Google Maps to do this. Apple Maps offers a "time to leave" alert option. Would that catch changes in traffic?

Ideally I don't want to get an alert every time, just something that pops up and says that something has happened along our route.

thanks
 

bransoj

macrumors 68000
Jul 31, 2013
1,563
739
You could potentially set it as an entry in your calendar, you could do this as a repeating entry and i think then it can use the time to leave option where it possibly picks up on any issues and lets you know to leave earlier. The other way is looking for a traffic monitoring app rather than a navigation app where you can set alerts for routes you do and it tells you of any issues.

Whether there is one for where you are is another matter. I sort of tried one from the Highways Agency in the UK but it had mixed results for me when i tried it.
 
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ignatius345

macrumors 604
Original poster
Aug 20, 2015
7,618
13,028
You could potentially set it as an entry in your calendar, you could do this as a repeating entry and i think then it can use the time to leave option where it possibly picks up on any issues and lets you know to leave earlier.
I have tried that, but so far haven't hit on any traffic situations to test it out -- so it just pops off an alert around the normal time.
The other way is looking for a traffic monitoring app rather than a navigation app where you can set alerts for routes you do and it tells you of any issues.

Whether there is one for where you are is another matter. I sort of tried one from the Highways Agency in the UK but it had mixed results for me when i tried it.
Yeah, this is what I'm hoping for but I'm not sure it exists. I'm really surprised there isn't a straightforward way to do this in Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze.
 

energizer5680

macrumors newbie
Jun 29, 2020
8
26
Maybe this https://apps.apple.com/de/app/eta-arrive-on-time/id803736422

or this
 

DaytonAnnie

macrumors newbie
Jan 13, 2015
15
30
SW Ohio
I live in Ohio and downloaded the Ohio Dept. of Transporation app (OHGO) from the app store. The app allows me to set up personal alerts and get real-time traffic updates on my iPhone. Perhaps your state's dept. of transportation has something similar?
 

Tagbert

macrumors 603
Jun 22, 2011
6,254
7,280
Seattle
I usually use Maps to give me driving directions when driving to work (with audio muted) even though I know the route. It gives me a current estimate and indicates if there are any blockages on that route.
 
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