I’m going to be completely honest with you.
I hate my commute. Hate it.
Quite frankly, I don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to drive time. It’s only about 25 minutes (in the morning, at least) but there are few things in life that put me on edge like being surrounded by a gaggle of cars being piloted by people who either haven’t had their morning coffee yet or are in a rush to get home for dinner.
Don’t even get me started on people texting while they’re driving. Just don’t.
Let’s not talk about the I-394E to 94E exit, either. Or construction season. Or the severe lack of blinker usage that seems to go hand-in-hand with abrupt lane changes.
Yes, I’m something of an anxious driver.
Thankfully, there’s never been a better time to be an anxious driver – because of technology.
I’m talkin’ bout podcasts!
I’m talkin’ bout your favorite tunes via Spotify, Apple Music – or for reasons that completely escape me, Tidal!
I’m talkin’ bout lane departure warning, backup cameras, and adaptive cruise control!
These things are soothing balms to a soul tortured by semi-trucks, left-lane campers, and mile after mile of stop-and-go traffic staged over scorching blacktop with no end in sight.
This recurring series will explore albums, podcasts, apps (the phone kind, not your favorite happy hour eats) as well as vehicular features that will make you dread your drive to and from work a little less.
Let’s get to it.
Waze
Waze is, simply put, the best free navigation app out there. Full stop. Fight me.
Waze collects map data, travel times and traffic information from users, who can report accidents, traffic jams, as well as speed and police traps – so you’re getting a real-time picture of your drive. Its display is fully customizable, allowing you to declutter your screen and only take in the information that’s pertinent to you!
There’s also a ton of cool features baked into the app, like being able to set up alerts when you’re going over the speed limit, a setting that will avoid difficult intersections, Spotify integration, and a calendar-sync feature.
The calendar-sync is especially useful – Waze will analyze traffic and give you push notifications alerting you as to the best time to leave for appointments. It’s like having a personal assistant with satellite imaging capabilities! Hello, future.
To fully unlock Waze’s potential, you’ll need to poke around in the settings – or check out this article, this article, and this article.
For real though, if you for some reason don’t have Waze on your phone already, download it right now. I’ll wait.
Until next time!
