I usually have a sense of direction that is better than average; and I usually try to avoid toll roads when driving a motor vehicle — except when the difference in time and convenience is substantial or when paying a toll is virtually impossible to avoid — but does the Avoid Tolls function really work with this mapping tool?
Does The Avoid Tolls Function Really Work With This Mapping Tool?
I happen to like Google Maps — both in a browser on a computer and as a mobile software application program on a portable electronic device. Although it suffers from strange anomalies at times, this mapping tool usually gets the job done — and it is especially useful in countries where English is not the first language.
Whenever a route is mapped in Google Maps, I usually have the Avoid Tolls functionality activated — especially when avoiding a toll road does not add much more time or inconvenience to driving from point A to point B…
…but I have experienced times where Avoid Tolls did not do its job, as illustrated by the following two examples:
Example 1: South Florida.
As I was heading north in South Florida west of Miami, Google Maps kept insisting that I take Florida’s Turnpike. No reason was given, as I was not informed of any accidents, construction, or other incidents that would cause enough of a delay in traffic for a detour to be implemented. I kept refusing it. as going that way would have been costly — plus, I was west of the turnpike; so I would have had to drive east before heading northwest towards Interstate 75, which I did not want to do.
That trip would have cost me as much as $28.32 had I listened to the directions from Google Maps that were updated while I was driving — and getting to my destination would have taken more time and more mileage.
Example 2: Western England.
The second time was in England when I drove from Stratford-upon-Avon to Chester. At two hours and 17 minutes, the drive without tolls via the A41 dual carriageway was actually four minutes faster and 17 miles shorter than the route via the M6 motorway, which includes the M6toll road — yet while I was driving, Google Maps redirected me to the M6toll road.
Something did not seem right to me — but unlike being in Florida, I was not as familiar with the highway network in England. Again, I was not informed of any accidents, construction, or other incidents that would cause enough of a delay in traffic for a detour to be implemented.
That toll of £9.70 wound up costing me $12.94 in United States dollars. Ouch. I wish I would have listened to my gut instinct that day to defy the alternate directions that Google Maps suddenly gave me.
At least the M6toll motorway accepts credit cards and is not completely electronic; so I was not required to pay extra money with mandatory “convenience” fees — especially as I was driving a rental car.
Final Boarding Call
I wondered if the authorities of toll roads were paying off Google Maps to send motorists onto their highways; so I searched the Internet. I found no definitive evidence that that was indeed happening — but I did find anecdotal evidence in the form of accusations that were posted at Internet bulletin board discussion web sites such as Reddit, of which this is one of numerous examples.
Have you experienced anything similar with Google Maps — or, for that matter, Apple Maps?
Photograph ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
