Faster Time or Shorter Distance?

 

As a general driving around setting, what would you recommend, Faster Time or Shorter Distance? It seems that the default Route Preference is Faster Time.

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I use faster time.

I use faster time. Selecting shorter distance may route you on rural roads, through small towns, and make your travel time longer.

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Hawk - Nuvi 1450

I think it's just about

impossible to say one size fits all.

For local travels, I'm on shorter distance. For longer rides I switch to faster time.

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(2) Nuvi 1450LMT + 3597LMTHD + 2557LMT + DS61LMT-S Boston MA

Hmm

I have to get quite creative to dream up scenarios where "shorter distance" makes more sense than "faster time" -- a leased vehicle where I'm about to exceed the max mileage without paying a big penalty, or an EV with borderline charge to complete the trip.

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Nuvi 660 -- and not upgrading it or maps until Garmin fixes long-standing bugs/problems, and get maps to where they are much more current, AND corrected on a more timely basis when advised of mistakes.

It all depends

Routing for shorter distance where I live takes you thru a lot of residential areas and generates a lot of left turns scenarios with loooooong waits until the traffic clears.

What good is a shorter distance if it increases the travel time by a factor of 2 or 3?

I'd think shorter distance would be useful only if one were having to carefully shepherd miles driven, like in some rental cars.

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"The true measure of persons is how they treat someone who can do them absolutely no good." - Samuel Johnson

Faster Time

Although the other route is shorter, it may actually take you longer to drive it. You could be routed through slower speed zones, residential areas, lots of redlights, or heavy traffic areas.

I always use Faster Time. I

I always use Faster Time. I don't think I ever have used shorter distance.

What I Chose?

Faster Time.

Faster time

I set it in the beginning and only once did I change it. That was when it became highly irregular, and my dhubby freaked out about turning on a dirt ski road in Vermont in the summertime.
I was all for trying it, to see where we wound up, but he was not adventuresome that day.

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"Making tracks..." {:)-<=| Nuvi 880

Depends. What's more

Depends. What's more important--time or money =)

I use faster time.

ecoRoute

You could also try using the "Less Fuel" setting if your device has "ecoRoute". According to Garmin, it is sort of a compromise between "shorter distance" and "faster time". At least that's the way I interpret it.

From Garmin's website:

"These routes are selected by factoring in fuel consumption data, the number of stops, speed limits, and more."

Time or Distance?

I use faster time . . . sometimes it takes you places you wouldn't normally go, but I think shorter distance would do that even more.

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dja24 - garmin nuvi 200W, etrex vista, etrex vista Cx

Almost always,

I use the quickest time. It is rare that I use the shortest route. I seldom have enough time as it is already!

faster time

I always keep it on faster time. A few times after I have the route set I'll change it to shorter distance just to see how much shorter mileage and longer time it would take. However, I always go back to the faster time.

Faster Time

cbnash wrote:

As a general driving around setting, what would you recommend, Faster Time or Shorter Distance? It seems that the default Route Preference is Faster Time.

Shortest distance will take you down every side street and cowpath in an attempt to save you 1/2 mile in your trip.

Faster Time or Shorter Distance?

It depends what kind of a trip I'm on. If I'm on a long trip it's fastest. If I'm just heading home from my one son's house which is 110 miles away, and I'm not in a hurry, I will take a couple of side roads that I'm not familiar with, then tell the 2820 to take me home the shortest route. Takes the boredom out of the drive home and once in awhile I come across some good photo opts. Sometimes when I get home I'll dump the track into MapSource just to see my route on a map.

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Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

faster time is not always faster

Faster time usually routes me on "larger" roads, and in a city, those streets are the slower ones with more lights more traffic. My Garmin will route me out of my may to take me on highways through town and it will result in a much slower trip with a lot more stress.

When I have time, I look at both choices and then pick.

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___________________ Garmin 2455, 855, Oregon 550t

Faster time or shorter distance

I have used both and find if I'm driving in a city environment looking for an off highway location, shorter distance is better. That being said, I usually leave my unit on faster time as most of my trips are long distance when I need to know where I'm going.

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Nuvi 350 - North Carolina - I'm not a native Southerner but I got here as fast as I could!

Faster

I use fastest time. I have the same issue as some others in larger Metro areas and end up on a lot of side roads if I use shorter distance.

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Magellan Maestro 4250, T-Mobile G1 with Google Maps, iPaq with TomTom, and a Tapwave Zodiac with TomTom and Mapopolis

A mix

Normally I use Fastest time, but it often takes me on congested roads (I don't have the traffic on mine). I live north of Dallas and often drive to Louisiana. Fastest routes me south into Dallas then east on an interstate. But there is US Highway that runs diagonnaly from my home to the interstate that is shorter and has a speed limit of 70. Garmin says it will take an extra 30 minutes that way, but in reality, I almost always knock 45 minutes off of that time because it seems to think the speed on that road will be 50 or 55. Once I get to the interstate, I switch to Fastest time for the remainder of the trip. And I always use Fastest when I am not familiar with an area.

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I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

Fastest time

after experimenting with both during the first couple of months, and then the less fuel choice for a week or so when I acquired that on my 765T, I now use fastest time.

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— (Garmin nuvi 765T) — "people who say money can't buy happiness, don't know where to shop"

Shorter Distance

In town I find faster time does do weird things sometimes... It thinks bigger or more major roads will be faster so it will make you go out of your way to get to one... This may take longer..

Dana

I use shorter distance only

I use shorter distance only because the "Faster Roads" around the bay area are usually the SLOWER ways to go. Besides, I like seeing the country side of things.

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Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

I always use faster time.

I always use faster time.

Fastest also. 'Cept when

I too usually use fastest time and tailor it with avoidances & traffic.

'Cept when I want a scooter route, then shortest distance is my starting point. Only problem is that the shortest is also usually the most scenic, but it's also, er well... the shortest and that's not what I want when cruising on the scooter.

Hey Zumo people... does it have a "crusin' on the 'scoot" preference setting??

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It's about the Line- If a line can be drawn between the powers granted and the rights retained, it would seem to be the same thing, whether the latter be secured by declaring that they shall not be abridged, or that the former shall not be extended.

Faster Time

I use faster time, but occasionally, the Nuvi 255w directs me along surface streets insead or the freeway, which is obviously faster...I'm not sure how to get around that.

Six on one hand...

... half dozen on the other.

I have mine set of Faster time but have checked on MapQuest from time to time to see the difference between faster and shorter, sometimes shorter distance has also taken less time. IE: Trip from my house to a store in Lexington, SC Faster time took 43 minutes and 38 miles, shorter distance took 42 minutes and 29 miles. Think faster time will basically just throw you on a highway if it can figuring that with stop and go local traffic you'll run a greater chance of being delayed.

At least that's what I think, I could be wrong.

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Brian Garmin nuvi 255W

Faster Time

I switched to shorter distance once, back when gas was $4.00 a gallon, hoping to save some money. I saved a little on gas, but got routed over a toll bridge, which cost me twice what I saved on gas and with back roads and traffic lights, took me 30 minutes longer to complete my trip. Since then I avoid tolls and stay on faster time.

I use faster time - it

I use faster time - it serves my purpose

Same here where there are no straight or parallel roads.

dfrisque wrote:

In town I find faster time does do weird things sometimes... It thinks bigger or more major roads will be faster so it will make you go out of your way to get to one... This may take longer..

Dana

Yeah, this is exactly what I get in my locale. It wants to get on the highway and turn a 6 mile ride into a 18 mile odyssey thinking it's "faster".

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(2) Nuvi 1450LMT + 3597LMTHD + 2557LMT + DS61LMT-S Boston MA

Faster Time

Faster time seems to work best for me. I've tried both. I drive in city, highway, and rural traffic.

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Tim - Garmin nuvi 680, 350

faster time is the best for

faster time is the best for me.

Faster Time

I think shortest route is fine when in the city, but Faster Time is more appropriate for long hauls.

Driving back from Arizona on I-15 last summer, my GPS advised me to take several turn-offs onto secondary highways in Utah and Montana. When I checked these routes out on a land map, they were indeed "short cuts". I might have saved 30 - 50 kilometers overall but I am sure it would have extended my trip by a couple of hours while I drove through farm country and little towns. Picturesque perhaps, but the reduced distance was not worth the lost time!

Faster time

I have much better experience with faster time setting, although I have to admit that both are not perfect. I wish GPS manufacturers would come up with a third option that would optimize time and mileage.

Maybe...

hercegovac wrote:

I have much better experience with faster time setting, although I have to admit that both are not perfect. I wish GPS manufacturers would come up with a third option that would optimize time and mileage.

You should read my post. Garmin has, essentially, come up with this "third option". It's called the "Less Fuel" setting if your Garmin is equipped with "ecoRoute". I've mapped out several locations with it, and most of the time it falls right in between what "Faster Time" and "Shortest Distance" will show you. This is simply because good fuel economy relies on maintaining a consistent speed (around 55-mph), but also taking the shortest route possible in which that consistent speed can be maintained (less stops).

Apparently, no one has caught on to how this setting works. It's not always going to give the best route, but neither will the other settings. That's why you either map it out beforehand, or use your own judgement.

Shorter Ain't always quicker

Sometimes for a fraction of a mile, you may get routed through local streets and neigborhoods and bogged down with slow speed limits, stop signs and/or lights. Unless you know where you are, stick with faster.

fastest time

there are often unaccounted for extra delays in shorter distance, and not the guarantees of fastest time

Faster Time or Shorter Distance?

I use the faster time

ohwogo nuvi 750

Fastest usualy best

I find that depending where you are makes a big difference. In the city I tried shortest and it ran me through small streets and when I changed to fastest, it still insisted the same route. Going back was just as bad! The fastest and shortest took me way out of my way to the perimeter. I find that you can't rely on the GPS to do the thinking for you. What I do is, get the GPS routing and then zoom out and look at the destination location and then pick the streets I want. I rely on the GPS when i'm in a strange place and lost. Another thing to watch out for is that the unit may guide you across private roads. (happened to me)

combo?

I wish there was a combo where it determined city limits... I like the Faster Time outside of city limits but within or close to city limits, I like the routes Shorter Distance gives me which ends up saving time. If I am stopped at a light, sometimes I will stop the routing, switch to shorter distance and reset the route.
I find that a combination of my lead foot with the shorter distance gets me to my destinations 5-20 minutes faster if it is mostly in the city.

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Garmin c330 w/ 2011 maps

I used faster time, but I

I used faster time, but I have tried shorter distance and in my experience, shorter distance usually avoids freeway and takes me onto road I didn't know about. But it usually ends up taking too much time and I just go back to faster time because of convenient.

Depends on area

I am on a trip now that started in Houston TX and I am in Dryden Ontario Canada. I used shorter distance on this trip because after comparing the two, I cut off over 200 miles. Due to the fact that I was in a rural area for most of the driving, it is a much faster way to go. I use US highways, which are for the most part great roads. You do go thru towns and have to slow down to as slow as 25 mph sometimes, but it is usually for less than a mile and your back up to 65 mph.
In my opionion, on long trips such as I am on, it is much faster to use shorter distance. There is no way it would have been faster on the interstates driving an extra 200 miles. I would have to drive at over 100 mph to make it any faster. I also enjoy taking the back way much more than the interstates. There is a lot more to see and a whole lot less traffic. The towns you do go through are short, but are pretty cool. Its like a step back in time going thru the old downtown areas and seeing the old buildings. Some pretty neat old theaters among them as well.
On this trip I took I-45 from Houston to Dallas because it was the shortest route. Then took US 75 out of Dallas and just north of Omaha Nebraska I took US 30 to US 71 and stayed there all the way to International Falls, MN and across the border.
If you are in an area like South Florida where I live, the back ways are useless. Nothing at all worth seeing and they are absolutley not faster than the expressways. Bumper to bumper gridlock is the norm on any day.
I also always map out the route first and look for any problem areas. If need be I make adjustments to the route by adding via points. I will have to look into the less fuel route and see how it works. Maybe on the trip back to houston I'll try that out.

Time is of the essence

Mine is always set for Fastest Time. Seems I am always in a hurry to get to the destination...

it has been set to fastest

it has been set to fastest time since i bought it.

I always use Faster Time!

I always use Faster Time!

Route Length

I think the choice depends on the trip length that you are planning.
The shortest distance choice on a long trip will absolutely show you the rural country side. The added time can be considerable.
Generally the fastest time choice will keep you on the multi lane highways which can be congested at certain times.
Chuck

I use faster time.. Shortest

I use faster time..
Shortest distance might be better if walking, or riding a bike

Set up the route using

Set up the route using faster time and then do the same using the shortest distance.....Note the road miles it list then check the time.....Automated route of course.....Faster time is best, and use the option to avoid toll roads, u turns, etc.....HTH!

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Garmin GPSmap76CS / Nuvi 200W

Faster Time

Gets you there quicker.

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No matter where you are "Life is Worth Living".

Faster time

I prefer the faster time setting over the shorter route because sometimes the shorter route you don't get to drive that fast.

Faster Time

I always use faster time.

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