In a Valley full of Traffic Whiners, why aren't there more Wazers?

It's called Waze. And it was actually the Chief Operating Officer of my company who turned me on to it, when he insisted I install it on his new Samsung GS3. 

Waze is to traffic & commuting what Facebook is to unfounded gossip, chain letters and picture sharing. It's simply awesome at what it does. 

So what is it? Simply put, it's a smart phone app that any road warrior commuting to or from the SCV should have. Waze pinpoints you in your car via GPS, asks you where you want to go (allowing you a saved Home & Work for instance, as well as other "Favorite" destinations) and then plots you a course. 

But it's not just a simple turn by turn app like the others, nor does it direct you on your way based solely off sensors from CalTrans or Google Maps to determine traffic speed. Rather, Waze adds a special and altogether genius element to this mix: the human element. 

Waze will give you three or four routes to work in the morning for instance. Based off the Wazers who have similar start/destination points, it will tell you what's on the road ahead, and why what you think is the fastest route might actually take you longer that day. And coolest of all, it allows you to add your own observations during your commute, further informing other Wazers as they commute. 

It is the ultimate panacea in this valley of traffic complainers, who really don't know how good they have it. A few for instances: 

Last week I left really early for work...5:20ish. Blue arcs of light were floating in from the east as the stars dimmed, I had the moon roof open, and the cool morning air was blowing into the top of my dressed up Prius Lexus lux hybrid. I was cruising up the Newhall Pass, admiring the jagged peaks, lush vegetation and...what the hell? A fog bank. Deep and thick as pea soup as they say, in the middle of all this construction no less. What is this the Bay Area? I thought I was up in the high desert here. 

I glanced quickly down at my Waze app, then back at the road. I tapped the phone simultaneously with three fingers, and Waze asked me what I wanted to report. 

"Hazard," I said. 

It asked what kind of hazard.

"Fog," I reported. 

And then it sent my little eyewitness report off into that other nebulous cloud, the Internet, where other Wazers departing the SCV got warning of the commute-slowing fog, perhaps even saving some of them some time by taking the less foggy Old Road. 10 folks thanked me for the notice, and my points and credibility grew. 

Another morning, I was driving down the SCV's only completely straight road, Lyons, enjoying myself again with the moonroof open, when what's that! A Deputy hiding by Grand Panda with his radar gun. He was hiding in such a way that by the time you spotted him, it'd be too late; you'd be slapped with a fine and/or worse for speeding.

Of course I don't speed down Lyons; it's a street best enjoyed at or below 40mph, and so once again, I tapped the Waze app (which keeps the phone awake constantly) and reported a "Hidden Police" officer in the area. Another few thank yous came my way hours later. I like to think the Deputy didn't tag anyone for speeding that morning. 

mm