They can tell the difference between motorcycles, cars and other vehicles (in some countries). Most importantly, Google Maps does not treat all vehicles equally. However, Google Maps will notice if several users are stopped on a highway and report it as a slowdown but if a whole bunch of people are parked in a garage and have their navigation on, you will probably not see a traffic jam on the map. So, how long must a vehicle be 'not moving' before it is ignored is unclear. Mind you, there were 99 phones with navigation mode on and not moving. Weckert had to keep his wagon moving for Google to spot the traffic jam. It is not clear how many 'slower-than-usual' drivers does it need for Google Maps to register a slowdown but according to reports, it took just one car driving past Weckert at normal speeds to undo the traffic jam he had caused with this wagon of iPhones.Īlso Read: This user 'hacked' Google Maps traffic flow in an entire area with 99 smartphonesĪs per Weckert's hack, Google Maps also seems to be ignoring things when a lot of users are at a standstill. Once the drivers using Google Maps are able to drive through an area at normal speed, Google removes the slowdown status for the area even if others are still driving slow.

This gets applied to Google automatically. Slowdowns on the map show up when Google Map users are in navigation mode and are travelling at slower-than-usual speeds. Green means that traffic is moving normally while orange indicates a slowdown and red means there is a jam and traffic is moving slower still On the map, when you track a route or are travelling, streets show up in green, orange and red. Going by Google's algorithm and what they had to say about Weckert's hack, the answer seems to be - yes, it is accurate, for the most part.Īccording to reports, Google Maps refreshes continuously based on anonymously tracked user data, satellite data and traffic sensors to make sure that the app is displaying the most accurate traffic information possible. If 99 phones in a wagon can throw Google Maps off, how accurate is the app actually? Weckert's hack was clever, but it raises questions about how Google Maps actually tracks and responds to data it collects. We appreciate seeing creative uses of Google Maps like this as it helps us make maps work better over time,' the spokesperson added. 'We've launched the ability to distinguish between cars and motorcycles in several countries including India, Indonesia and Egypt, though we haven't quite cracked traveling by wagon.

We also look at the size and directness of a road - driving down a highway is often more efficient than taking a smaller road with multiple stops.'Traffic data in Google Maps is refreshed continuously thanks to information from a variety of sources, including aggregated anonymized data from people who have location services turned on and contributions from the Google Maps community,' a Google spokesperson said.Īlso Read: Google responds after user hacks Google Maps traffic flow with 99 smartphones Is the road paved or unpaved, or covered in gravel, dirt or mud? Elements like these can make a road difficult to drive down, and we're less likely to recommend this road as part of your route. 'We also look at a number of other factors, like road quality. 'If we predict that traffic is likely to become heavy in one direction, we'll automatically find you a lower-traffic alternative,' he said.

Lau added how its predictive traffic models are also key to how Google Maps determines driving routes, in addition to authoritative data from local governments and real-time feedback from users to determine road condition changes. See also: Google Maps turns 15: A look back on where it all began The model, according to Lau, automatically prioritises historical traffic patterns from the last two to four weeks, and deprioritises patterns from any time before that.

Predicted traffic google maps