GPS Navigation Apps Should Let Users Avoid “Difficult” Situations

I'm a big fan of GPS navigation apps like Waze and others. One thing I've noticed in the Los Angeles area is that although Waze theoretically calculates the fastest route between 2 points, it sometimes fails to account for the degree of difficulty. For example, I am sometimes given routes where I am taken onto a small street and then expected to cross or turn left onto a busy 8-lane road during rush hour. While directions work well at a macro level (e.g., take freeway X, not freeway Y), when it comes to surface streets, sometimes you have to outsmart your GPS.

Today I saw an interesting Twitter moment that highlighted another limitation of most GPS apps: it fails to account for the steepness of streets. I was surprised to learn that some streets have grades in excess of 30%. For example, Baxter Street in Los Angeles has a 32% grade:

That's pretty steep, and unsuspecting drivers who are routed through such streets are sometimes in for a big surprise, if not a mishap. I am sure the makers of GPS apps have been thinking about this for a long time, but it would be nice if a driver could choose to avoid “difficult” situations, similar how there are features to avoid tolls or freeways. Even better, a user could select what kinds of difficult situations they wish to avoid: crossing difficult intersections, driving on steep grades (perhaps with options to avoid streets with grades more than a certain % threshold), driving on partially paved or unpaved roads, etc.

Overall it's pretty amazing how much we've progressed since the days of paper maps, and I often wonder how I found my way around without GPS technology. I realize that someday driverless cars will be the norm which will render this post obsolete, but progress occurs in steps. I hope we will see options to avoid difficult situations in the near future.