Google Lat Long: Tip of the week: Smooth riding

The official blog for Google Maps

Tip of the week: Smooth riding

September 11, 2008

Sometimes it takes more than a list of directions from Point A to Point B to get you where you need to go: you need to know what stands in between you and your destination. To get an idea of what to expect when you hit the road, click on the "Traffic" button on the top right when you get your directions (it will appear if we have traffic coverage in your area) -- and remember, you can see either live conditions or typical conditions at any given day and time. Here's a quick cheat-sheet about what exactly the colors indicate:

If a road is green it means traffic is moving well, 45 miles per hour or better
If a road is yellow, vehicle speeds are between 25 and 45 mph
If a road is red, traffic is slow - between 10 and 25 mph
If a road is red and black, that represents stop-and-go traffic (expect a wait)

You may also see information about traffic incidents that are causing congestion. Now that you have this information, what do you do when you see yellows and reds all over your route, short of just staying home? With the draggable route feature of Google Maps, you can easily move your route off those nasty red roads and over to friendly green ones and easily get updated directions. And for those times when it seems like all you're seeing red everywhere you look, look to see if we have transit directions in your area to find out how to get to Point B car-free!