Oh, the sheer torture of being stuck in traffic when you must, must, must pick up the equipment, get to the location, deliver the crew, bring the food, and get whatever and whomever to the place they need to be, so they can shoot the scene, stay on schedule and not have the Line Producer throw things because you are late due to traffic. The fact is, there’s no easy way to predict if you’ll be stuck on the 59th Street Bridge behind a guy who forgot to fill his gas tank. However we live in the 21st century and there is an app for almost everything and now you can give yourself a fighting chance with WAZE – a real time traffic navigation app.
Here’s what their website says:
So, how does it work?
After typing in their destination address, users just drive with the app open on their phone to passively contribute traffic and other road data, but they can also take a more active role by sharing road reports on accidents, police traps, or any other hazards along the way, helping to give other users in the area a ‘heads-up’ about what’s to come.
In addition to the local communities of drivers using the app, WAZE is also home to an active community of online map editors who ensure that the data in their areas is as up-to-date as possible.
I’m particularly intrigued by the ‘community’ aspect of the app. How many times have you been in a traffic jam and turned on the radio station that is “all news all the time”, and they say NOTHING, ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY nothing about the jam you’re in; and you are driving on a major highway. Now, with WAZE perhaps you can avoid the jam, and if not, at least you can let others know about it. If it’s true that what goes-around-comes-around , then next time, maybe, someone will help you avoid the dreaded, oh-so-hated traffic snarl ups that get your heart racing and skin sweating because you happen to be driving the cargo van that has ALL the cameras and everyone is waiting for you.
