Fastest vs. Shortest Distance

I've had my GPS route me differently than I would have driven. In most cases, they did end up being quicker.

Just recently this happened, I always travel the same route since that is the route I have always traveled. A new bypass had been built, and I never considered taking it since it was a longer distance. But it did end up being quicker. I might not take this route during certain times, however, since it is a major highway.

My wife always drives to her company's home office the same way. The first time out with her GPS, it routed her a different way. Again, it was quicker due mainly to fewer traffic lights.

I would at least try the given route a coule of times, then decide. I don't always drive the suggested route when I am close to home, since I am more familiar with the local roads and traffic conditions, for which the GPS has no knowledge.

Bob R.

I have had the opportunity to have others travel the 'known best route' while I followed the GPS route. They are often close and difficult to tell what all of the influences were in the differences. Because the GPS uses math, it can change the route based on a couple of car lengths if it is viewed a shorter or faster.

I use my GPS daily and find that it takes me on some great routes that I would never have discovered that are really useful. I have also had benefit from the traffic information that has automatically avoided my normal routes and saved time.

In an unfamiliar city, ignorance is bliss and the GPS has never failed to deliver me to my destination, regardless of how the locals would have gone.

Have a great time seeing some new sites around home.

Bill

I played with my unit locally and when I took the shortest distance it took me through congested city streets, but is was shorter.The fastest time improved by using more four lane highways.

I think knowing an area always helps on what will take less time. Weather, traffic, construction conditions will change the travel time. The map company doesn't send someone to every street.

Having adjusted route settings in my GPS I can see the different routes it will try and take with each setting. Sometimes it takes the route I go, but not always. I am sure the route it chooses is shorter.
I am new to GPSing, but I would explain a GPS routing as asking the guy on the corner how to get somewhere. It may not be the fastest or the best, but it will get you there. Then I change that to a GPS is like calling up your friend and asking your friend to read a map of the area to you, and he has never been to the area.

We have a little fun with the GPS when we visit a son that lives about 100 miles away and we are in no hurry to get home. I take off on a side road for a few miles then have it route us home using the shortest route. We usually get an interesting trip home on a lot of back roads we've never been on. I've also done it a few times when we've been on vacation routing back to the motel after a day of sight seeing.

same thing here. I recently took a trip with my new Nuvi 200 and it took me a different route I normally do. One segment, I usually go a direct road from point a to point b but Garmin had me go to a different exit and go a different route. My rout was 2 lane the whole way while Garmins route was 4 lane with a higher speed limit.

My old route for my entire route was 300 miles, with garmin, it was 276.

I don't know if you have the option or not, but on my TT, I can do "avoid freeways". That usually take you some interesting routes without having to go through one way alleys for the shortest distance.

I like it. Imagine picking random addresses and knocking on a strangers door. Spooky.

I live in a rural area and my Nuvi 200 directs me to roads that don't exist or are ranchers' dirt roads. On my favorite route to town, the Nuvi tries to get me to drive to the Tehachapi state prison where I'd probaly get shot if I attempted that route. I don't blame Garmin but rather the map data given to them. Just be wary sometimes!

I use fastest time for driving in my car. It keeps me on the main roads.

I use shortest distance on my motorcycle. You see many lesser travelled and often times, scenic roads.

I live in the suburbs of NYC. I liken "fastest route" with traveling at 3AM when there are no cars on the road, no double parked vehicles, no congestion and no construction.

The GPSr will consider the streets/highways to take based on their length and posted speed limits. I can assure you that in many cases, I will never hit posted speeds, seem to lose minutes at many traffic lights and have to deal with many other variables on the route that are just not considered by the GPSr (and honestly- how could it?).

If you live or travel in areas that don't deal with NYC style conditions, then I guess that "fastest" has more meaning. If not, you have to apply some common sense and real life experiences along with what the GPSr may suggest. Every now and then, I let the GPSr be my sole guide, even if my experiences give me a different route just to see the difference. Sometimes, I may just learn a new trick.

Rob

(shortest distance) to our grocery store. It was definitely faster than the route I usually take. I'm going to test my local knowledge with this gadget. Who knows, I might just save some time and money. It's definitely making me rethink some very old travel habits.

Again, YMMV but at least where I live, the shortest distance may shave a mile or so off of a route, but may cause me to take a lot of small, slower ancillary roads- taking more time than the slightly longer but faster route. (But again, those faster roads may not be so fast if congested.)

I guess that in certain locales and routes, the shortest route may also be the same or very similar to the fastest one.

In NY my Garmin usually knows my shortcuts, and when it didnt, their way was acctually faster. There was just one time, it kept trying to send me on a main road with alot of lights, that are never time'd, and the side streets are actually faster with no lights, it kept rerouting trying to get me back to that ave.
obviosly its not epected to know the timing of the lights lol.

I try to not use the gps when I know where I'm going and how I want to get there. It avoids disappointment and questions afterwards like "Why the hell did it send me this way?"

When I have no clue how to get there from where I am is when I use it. That way, it might not have picked the best or the fastest or even the easiest route, but I'm no wiser to that fact and so I really can't question whether there is a better route or not. All that rests is for me to be happy when I see that I've reached the checkered flag and there it is.... my intended destination.

Leaving San Marcos TX for South Padre Island I normally take I-35 south to San Antonio and then take the 410 by-pass around the city to I-37

When I turned on the GPS I was directed off the Interstate. We had lots of time so I followed instructions. The C340 took me 15 mi east of San Marcos then south for 30 plus mi. Then it had me turn west for 13 mi (all on secondary roads and through several small towns) and I joined up with I37 just south of San Antonio....

THe unit was set for fastest and at rush hour the route might have been faster but I'm sure I lost 20-40 mins with the circuitous routing on a quiet morning. (all types of highways were acceptable U turns was probably shut off.)

I'll know better next time and give it a smaller segment to route.

At home, coming from work late in the evening, I see similar suggestions. I ignore them as traffic is negligible.

I have used the fastest and the shortest and agree that they do take you on some interesting routes. I even play with the settings of staying off of highways, tollways, and sorts.

They seem to work. It was just hard turning when it said to turn as I wanted to continue on my usaual route. I still take the usual route most of the time, but if I am in a hurry, I go the way the 760 told me to go.

I'm finding some routes are good and some are inexcusably bad. Not sure I can trust the GPS w/o a map to back it up. That's disappointing.

Sounds to me like they tried to do too much when calculating "fastest".....or not quite enough by not taking into account time of day.

I would think, however, that "shortest" is always shortest since it is not affected by time of day, season or phase of the moon, etc.

Tends to reinforce the contention that the GPS is just a "toy" on routes that you are already familiar with......unless you have one that does "real time traffic".

A GPS is just a piece of electronic equipment that only picks a route that it was programmed to select taking into consideration many variables. It's purpose is to get you from point "A" to point be "B" in unfamiliar territory/surroundings; and I'm sure that is what it will do in 99.9% of the time. If you use it in familiar territory; than it is just a toy!

Methinks that if you are driving in a far away city that you are unfamiliar with; you WILL follow the directions of you GPS. In your own city; than it is your choice!

Sometimes just adding or taking away the "highway" option can make for better or worse (in my opinion, with local knowledge) routes, regardless of whether I select "shortest" or "fastest."

I also wondered recently whether an alternate route I sometimes take is shorter or longer than the one I usually take. When I deviated from my "usual" route (which happened to be the one the GPS first calculated) the re-calculated time was identical!

trying to find the best route to Ottawa. After many attempts where I tried to direct the routing, I gave up and let it select the entire route. It took me way off my usual route, but when I examined it, I decided I'll give it a try. The route saves 15 minutes in a seven hour trip, but that 15 minutes is saved in the first 2 hours and the route takes me right by my favorite put-in on the Lehigh. It appears I've been going the wrong way for 20 years.

In my case, the I used it to show me the way home, just to check the "quickest" route. It made me take a few different streets that I normally do not use. What really amazed me is that it told me to turn on "Park Street" and I never knew that is what is was called.

I have been giving people instructions to my house by telling them to turn on this street but called it by an incorrect name. In almost 20 years, no one mentioned it.... except my trusty ol' GPS.

The GPS will attempt to route the fastest way based on the data it has. Local knowledge of traffic and the time of day may trump the GPS. I have ignored Jill on a trip from Atlanta to Louisville, KY while driving around Chattanooga. When she was done recalculating, I had shaved 45 minutes off the trip.

On another trip home to North Georgia, instead of keeping me on the interstate, she routed me on two lane roads through TN and North Georgia. It was scenic but I wouldn't want to drive it at night or bad weather.

In an unfamiliar area, I wouldn't travel without my GPS. It will get me there. Sure, there may have been a route that would have been a little quicker but I will save that for another trip.

It does best case, and does it pretty well. You are right, it can't take time of day into consideration.

I think my 760 has done pretty well. Got tired of Jill so I switched to Jack. If I just put it on American without a name after it, will that just make the unit not speak?

I ran into one just the other night, as I was driving the 100 or so miles between my mom's and my sister's houses. I pulled Emily my C340 out and had her route me and she took a quite different path from my usual, one that avoided one small city and three little villages, with a time savings of probably close to ten minutes all told. I did almost hit a deer, but that was a calculated risk of going on the back roads.

didn't help me coming home from northern Michigan after new years. From I-75 to US 127 was good. When we came to Isabella, where the highway looped around, it had me take the exit. My mistake, it was the business route through town. Lost a good 5 minutes that way. Although we had never been in that city before, it was nice to see it. The highway was just to the east of town. Same thing happened at St. Johns where it wanted me to take Old-27.
I'll try shortest time next time we go that way.

I guess the moral is, "Take a map with you", or have your co-pilot read the GPS ahead.

I think this debate depends heavily on how you use your GPS - total reliance or aid? I find myself using my new N650 as I did my C340 in 2 basic ways neither of which I am particularly concerned about distance. The first, assisting me to find a location where I roughly know how to navigate. The units are very helpful in warning me as I approach a destination where previously I would overshoot and return. The second is actually finding my way to or from a location I am completely unfamiliar with. In this case both units have worked flawlessly. I recently got stuck in New York hwy traffic due to an accident 5 miles ahead, did not press 'Detour' but rather just turned off at the first opportunity. My C340 re-routed me thru the unknown (to me) local bowels of Brooklyn exactly to my destination - a harrowing ride to be sure but I got there! Became a Garmin fan after that.

I think it'll speak, just not pronounce street names (i.e. no text to speech)

Well said...

I hope people from now on don't miss the turn or get rear-ended trying to read the street name on the tiny signs while driving.