GPS Quickest Route

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grimreefer24601
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GPS Quickest Route

#1 Post by grimreefer24601 » 19 Sep 2021 22:42

I noticed that the GPS doesn't select the fastest route. Been playing a long time and didn't notice. I took a job that was a long haul from Washington to New Mexico. I didn't want to do 55 all the way through California. I put a stop in Salt Lake, and to my surprise my route was an hour faster. More distance, but faster. I looked at my GPS settings and there is Best, Shortest, and Slow Roads. I would figure "Best" would be fastest. Anyone know how the GPS calculates routes?
nautofon
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Re: GPS Quickest Route

#2 Post by nautofon » 20 Sep 2021 16:51

Fastest is not necessarily best. The amount of fuel used should play a role in choosing the "best" route, and perhaps also factors such as safety, access to services or how easy a route is to navigate.

Such factors will be situational (depending on driver, load, schedule, weather), therefore no "GPS" routing computer will ever be able to give a truly "best" route. A route labelled as "best" is likely some middle-of-the-road thing that isn't really best for any purpose. "Acceptable" might be a more accurate term, but it doesn't sound as nice.

"Fastest" is actually possible to estimate for a computer, which is why IRL navigation devices tend to offer "fastest" and "shortest" as choices, rather than "best". I think the game's time estimates are way off though.
For driving without GPS navigation:  ATS Company/Facility Directory — C/FD
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GT182
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Re: GPS Quickest Route

#3 Post by GT182 » 21 Sep 2021 02:29

Usually the "Best" route ends up as the fastest route. And the "Shortest" is not always the fastest. I've tried many times and I always go back to the "Best" route.

And yes, the games timing is off too. As are the miles driven for the routing taken.
Gary - CB code name: CW
Formerly from Northern NY on the Ontario/Quebec borders.
I've hauled ass down the road to deliver new cars and trucks, fuel, freight, and produce. Now I'm addicted to ATS doing the same thing in a simulation. :roll:
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bobgrey1997
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Re: GPS Quickest Route

#4 Post by bobgrey1997 » 21 Sep 2021 04:17

Ah, yes... GPS doing stupid things...
The more complaints I see (or even have myself) about these games, the more realism I usually see in them.
GPS are stupid devices which seem to be wrong more often than they are right.
Take my last load for example...
I started it on Friday afternoon after getting back to work from my home time.
[ external image ]

I just delivered it a few hours ago...

It would give me an exit to take with an estimated distance and time to that exit, as well as to the destination. As I get closer to the exit, the time starts going haywire.
It then decided to try to send me 3 states in the opposite direction.
This is why I usually drive without these things. "Best route" is the one you plan yourself.
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GT182
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Re: GPS Quickest Route

#5 Post by GT182 » 30 Sep 2021 02:07

That's why a paper "State" map is a great backup. GPS tries to lure you out on the "Tourist" routes miles out of the direct route you want to go.
Gary - CB code name: CW
Formerly from Northern NY on the Ontario/Quebec borders.
I've hauled ass down the road to deliver new cars and trucks, fuel, freight, and produce. Now I'm addicted to ATS doing the same thing in a simulation. :roll:
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bobgrey1997
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Re: GPS Quickest Route

#6 Post by bobgrey1997 » 30 Sep 2021 04:55

A typical GPS does, yes. Fhose are designed to track others who have the same GPS to figure most popular routes.
My GPS is in-house (developed by Knight Transportation) for the trucks. While it does the same thing, it is doing so with other truck drivers.
However, the planners (people who assign loads to drivers) have a system that automatically generates "best route" for that load, factoring in potential traffic, fuel stops, and hours of service.
It never succeeds in generating anything close to "best route".
Actually, my last load from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Minneapolis, Minnesota tried to send me to Illinois and Wisconsin due to a fuel stop in St Paul.
This was a 3 hour detour for a fuel stop 20 minutes out of the way (the system found some construction and thought it was it a no-go, despite it only being one lane closed for work on a sound barrier). Instead, once again, I turned off the GPS and got my fuel route changed to something actually on the way.
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