navigation - is traffic data live?

Discussion in 'Prime Audio, Electronics, and Infotainment' started by jbhybrid, Feb 20, 2017.

Tags:
  1. jbhybrid

    jbhybrid Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2017
    16
    6
    1
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Driving my brand new Prime home, before pairing it with my cell phone, I tried out the Navigation feature and in several places it advised "slow traffic ahead". I presume this is simply based on historical data (?) Or does it have its own data network to update current traffic conditions, and if so, how does that work? Does the car have its own cell phone plan? Are there any wireless data networks that work without a subscription and regular payments?
     
    #1 jbhybrid, Feb 20, 2017
  2. heiwa

    heiwa Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2016
    223
    216
    0
    Location:
    Central Valley, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    #2 heiwa, Feb 20, 2017
  3. CaliforniaPrius

    CaliforniaPrius Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2012
    313
    201
    0
    Location:
    Alameda, California
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    The software sucks. It asked me once to exit the highway with little to no traffic, go local for 0.2 miles then reenter the highway.
     
    #3 CaliforniaPrius, Feb 20, 2017
  4. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    2,311
    1,335
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    As I recall, it is real-time, although its availability and realtimeness (if that's a word) depends a lot upon your particular locality. Some traffic authorities (city, county, or state) put more resources into it than others.
     
    #4 mr88cet, Feb 20, 2017
  5. heiwa

    heiwa Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2016
    223
    216
    0
    Location:
    Central Valley, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    See the Navigation Manual page 221

    Nav page 221.jpg
     
    #5 heiwa, Feb 20, 2017
    ArcPrime likes this.
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,128
    16,360
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    That's more of the navigation mapping error than traffic.

    I've had it happen (even on my TomTom) if the highway curves to the right and there's an exit. If it's not properly marked in the embedded map, it'll take the exit and then entrance since it's "quicker" cause it's a shorter "arc" around the corner than staying on the freeway.
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Feb 20, 2017
  7. RJ Primw

    RJ Primw Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2016
    65
    87
    0
    Location:
    South Jersey
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Every time the navigation has rerouted me, and I have ignored it, I have lived to regret it, so that level of traffic info seems to useful. I have learned though, that "Slow traffic ahead" can translate to a couple of cars at a stop light, especially on a Sunday morning. "Stop and Go traffic ahead" seems to be the code for "there is really slow traffic, enough that it might impact your commute."
     
    #7 RJ Primw, Feb 20, 2017
    bwilson4web likes this.
  8. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,558
    10,331
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    My aftermarket Garmins are usually smart enough to not fall for this trap. By knowing most speed limits, they know that the slower street speeds take extra time compared to the highway. Though one got tricked last month through Incline Village (on Lake Tahoe) where the main route also had a reduced speed limit.

    But set these Garmins to 'Shortest Distance' instead of 'Shortest Time', and they will frequently suffer the same issue. I suspect numerous drivers are making this mistake.
     
    #8 fuzzy1, Feb 20, 2017
    Samprocat and Tideland Prius like this.
  9. jgspears

    jgspears Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2004
    30
    15
    0
    Location:
    Conover, NC
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    The navigation is pretty poor. I have use my phone running Waze which has much more accurate information. My arrival times are right on with Waze. Traffic issues are at times similar but I find Waze has more useful data. Accuracy is no comparison. Waze is usually up to date even with temporary road changes (e.g. construction). If not I can do a map edit and fix the problem for others.

    I wish there were a way to integrate my phone with the car so I could use the navigation system I choose.
     
    #9 jgspears, Feb 21, 2017
    Jpparker19 likes this.
  10. jbhybrid

    jbhybrid Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2017
    16
    6
    1
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Thanks; I didn't know about the HD Radio traffic data. In case of interest:

    Traffic message channel - Wikipedia

    "A major design challenge of RDS-TMC was to find a way of describing traffic event locations across an entire state or country. Such a system could not convey precise latitude-longitude data (available 25 years later using GPS in applications such as Waze). Instead, RDS-TMC relies on the use of location tables that point only to significant highway junctions. The precision of each traffic event's location is low compared to that of modern smartphone devices. The user's navigation system locates a driver to about 3 metres (10 feet), but only knows, for example, that a crash took place between Exit 3 and Exit 4, northbound on a particular motorway. This limitation requires that traffic events (accidents, congestion, burst water mains, faulty traffic lights, etc.) have to be superimposed onto maps by mapping the reported location to the TMC location table. If the nearest location table point lies at some distance from the exact position of the incident, then the report appears on a section of main road between two junctions instead of at its exact location. The limited precision can make a significant difference as to how navigation devices interpret the incident, potentially leading to an occasional poor route choice."
     
    #10 jbhybrid, Feb 21, 2017
  11. GT4Prius

    GT4Prius Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2014
    530
    412
    0
    Location:
    Cumbria, UK
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Excel
    Can't the Nav system get traffic updates from your Cell phone if it has a data connection?

    I understand that the Nav software is similar to that in the Herewego Nav app, before that known as Here Maps and before that known as Nokia maps. It has been around a while and in continuous development and improvement.

    Having said that, for routing and Traffic based rerouting I prefer Google Maps Nav, which I think uses the same traffic data as Waze, and in the UK does seem when I have compared them t o have traffic data that is a lot more up to the minute than Here.
     
    #11 GT4Prius, Feb 23, 2017
  12. CaliforniaPrius

    CaliforniaPrius Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2012
    313
    201
    0
    Location:
    Alameda, California
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Waze FTW
     
    #12 CaliforniaPrius, Feb 23, 2017
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)