this post was submitted on 21 May 2026
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me_irl
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i do that on routes with a high chance of surprise traffic annoyances
That’s great for cities, but in the countryside there’s no such thing as traffic, yet so many people still use their GPS for destinations within less than 150kms. That’s not super great for the brain, it softens it as surely as having AI do your thinking for you does.
And to have an ETA.
I mean, I feel like I probably could drive myself the entire ~1200 miles/2000 km to my in-laws without using navigation, but it probably wouldn’t be the best route at a given time of day. I could easily be stuck in traffic because of a car wreck, construction, or just rush hour.
I used to be able to do that in my head. Like look at a map, eyeball the median speed we'll be able to drive, the distance and I was usually within a 10-15min accuracy.
The point is that GPS map services factor in traffic data...
I know roughly how long it will take for me to drive the several hour trip to my mom's house when there aren't any accidents or construction work. It's those factors that affect my ETA.
If it’s a local destination that I know well I have a pretty good estimation in my head, but again those unexpected factors can throw a wrench in my plans.
intentionally takes the most congested route possible
Oh nooo, not traffic! I guess we won't be able to meet them at the 4pm dinner special, and we'll miss Ron going on another tangent about taxes and gays. Better call them and let them know we are.... 4, maybe 6 hours behind schedule, maybe even more... How unfortunate.
Same. I don't use GPS to figure out how to get to my buddy's house for game night, I use GPS to figure out which way traffic fucks me over the least amount today.
Yup. Every morning. There are two highways possible and if there is an accident on the one I choose I will be stuck in traffic for two hours.