Google Maps vs. AAA TripTik

[towacodaddy]

Hi - First time poster here, with hopefully a question that hasn't already been asked 100 times (at least I couldn't find it).

I'm driving with my family from NJ to Myrtle Beach SC and went to both sites for directions. Google Maps said the drive is 672 miles and will take 12 hours, 10 minutes. TripTik said it's 691 miles and will take only 10 hours, 40 minutes. The routes they provided are roughly the same, and obviously the majority of the trip is on I-95 so there wouldn't be a difference in the route.

Why would there be this much of a difference? Is there a different assumption in their calculation as to how fast you'll be driving? We're actually continuing on to West Palm Beach FL and then driving back from FL to NJ, and the difference their is nearly 3 hours (TripTik shorter)!

Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[glc]

None of the mapping software is truly realistic. Real world on I-95, you are looking at more like 14 hours. Software doesn't have to stop for anything and is never delayed by traffic, construction, or even red lights. The only way I'd attempt to drive from NJ to Myrtle Beach in one day is with multiple drivers and a very early AM start.

Rule of thumb here is take the Google estimate and add 20%. In this case, Triptik is totally out to lunch.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

All of the various mapping software should be right on for mileage, but when it comes to travel times, they all use different mathematical formulas to compute their driving times. When it comes to freeway travel, they are almost all grossly optimistic because they assume you'll never have to stop or even slow down from cruising highway speeds.

Quite often, simply using a little common sense will also show the times are way off. In the case of TripTik's estimate, just dividing the miles by the time shows they think you can average 65 mph for the entire trip - never mind that this is one of the busiest travel corridors in the world where 65 mph is the fastest speed limit you'll ever see.

A good rule of thumb is that on highway travel when you factor in just the basic stops and assume traveling slightly above the speed limit, you'll average at best 57 mph - with 55-53 more likely on the east coast. In this case, surprisingly, that's actually pretty close to Google's estimate. However, even that assumes a fairly best case drive, and I'd plan for this drive to take at least 13 hours.

[towacodaddy]

Thanks for the feedback! Of course I was hoping the answer would be that TripTik was right, but you're right that it didn't seem realistic.

Great website. We're off next week - thanks again for your help!

[glc]

I wouldn't even count on a 53 average in the I-95 corridor - you have a lot of traffic to deal with, Baltimore and DC can be very congested. Please let us know how long it actually took!