Google Maps v Waze v speedo: Which best avoids a speeding fine?

I use Waze religiously...but is it actually accurate? We put Waze to the test against Google Maps and the car's speedometer to see which is most accurate and which one will help you avoid getting done for speeding.

Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Car speedometer accuracy: 00:33
Waze accuracy: 01:59
Google Maps accuracy: 03:27
Verdict: 05:08

We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.

Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.

You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.

Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!

Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!

CarExpert:

Paul Maric:

#waze #google #speeding

[orlandoberry]

Going faster didn’t change the inaccuracy.
The error is 5% in both examples of 80 and 100 kph.

[purehardstyles]

As an RACV roadside assistance patrolman, Waze is not only superior with speed accuracy but amazing for identifying where a potential breakdown vehicle is and warns others to slow down and watch out for me keeping me safe especially on freeways.
I encourage everyone to not only run Waze but to report everything along the route.
It could quite literally save mine and my customers lives!!

[JBrezicPhotography]

Waze has saved my ass too many times times to count. I can't drive without it running.

[_saifr]

Waze is a life saver. i have a crazy story. I was driving to Canberra around 9 pm in the dark and there was a dead kangaroo just in the middle of the road my waze app alerted me that there was an object on the road ahead, i just slowed down to 80 from 110 and in like 2 seconds there was a full grown dead kangaroo right in front of my car, had i not been alerted i would have hit it at 110 kph dead on. its crazy how useful it is and how solid waze community is about helping each other not to mention all other benefits. i use it all the time now.

[JuliMeetup]

My experience with Google Maps is totally different to what you showed. The speed is always rock solid. It doesn't jump around like it did during your test.

[mindsnare]

I commute to Melbourne every week and man, Waze gets pretty wild with the directions to avoid traffic. That should be your next test! Google Maps Vs Waze directions. Google Maps rarely diverges from the most appropriate highway route. Waze will take you through the backroads to get you there quicker, but I've got no way of actually determining whether Waze is saving me time or sending me on a wild goose chase.

Either way it makes the morning drive interesting.

[Terror-ilnm]

You missed the best feature of Waze to report Police and speed camera locations

[Ted...youtubee]

Already knew this.
Hence, people driving in the right lane doing 95 is really annoying.

[duncancampbell]

I cured my speedo by fitting 45 profile tyres in place of 40 (std) - this avoided the awful ride quality over our UK "speed bumps" and means that the speedo is spot on at speeds up to 100 mph - as tested on track. This also helps to protect my OZ alloys better too !

[mvnorsel]

Just installed 10mm higher tyres, speed at an indicated 100 was a real 95, now its at 98. More accurate.

[keifwoki]

Professional drivers have been screaming this for years... Choose a speed, do your best to maintain that speed, drive in the appropriate lane for what the traffic is doing around you. Its not hard.

[VKIR]

I use Google maps on my Android and I can't say ive ever seen it fluctuate like that.

[dinukdesilva]

The google maps speed on my Samsung is pretty stable :)

[Seiskid]

In Victoria its almost impossible not to get a speeding fine at some time. Cameras are everywhere. And to increase revenue they've been aggressively lowering speeds on safe, wide, segregated roads by 20, 30, 40kmh so that even if you're literally crawling along, you're probably still doing more than the number they stuck on a pole last week. Exhibit-A princes freeway either side of Garfield. Used to be 110. Now 80. On a divided dual freeway. Meanwhile the unsafe, incompetent, aggressive driving we all have to put up with everyday, the stuff that causes real accidents, forget about it, our authorities have zero interest.

[Roberto.Giuseppe]

I have been using waze and have not had any speeding fines, my speedo is always showing 5 kmh over AS indicated. Your segment has now strengthen my case in using waze, as it is superior. Thank you

[JamesVaughan-gs]

I recently retired from a major Police department after 25 years, I went to radar school a long time ago. The radar gun only gives an accurate speed if the vehicle is coming straight at it. Since there is an angle from the radar gun, the benefit goes to the driver. The further you are parked away from the road with a bigger angle the speed on the radar gun decreases. Thats why the moving radar units in police vehicles are more accurate because the vehicle is coming straight at it on the road.

[barrydraper]

I use Waze all the time for navigation, tracking accurate speed & changing traffic situations. Occasionally, I find myself even using Apple Maps over Google Maps. I only use Google Maps to discover nearby businesses, get reviews, etc, but very rarely for nav.

[thehastywombat]

I’ve been using Waze for this for years and have always breezed past.

I saw Apple had introduced the speedometer feature recently as well, and it was jumping all over the place, similar to your experience here with Google.

Only used it once and back to Waze for me.

[paulboath]

This is a good experiment as it shows the mechanical/electrical losses between the sensors and the readout. Across Europe, and I guess other areas speedometers have to read in the range of +10%/0. This range allows for tyre wear.
New standard road tyres typically have a tread depth of 8mm and a minimum legal depth of 1.6mm here in the U.K. meaning a loss of 6.4mm on the rolling radius over the life of the tyre. For those that don’t know the rolling radius is the vertical distance from the wheel centre to the road.
Inflation pressures tyre temperatures also change the rolling radius. The rolling radius determines the number of rotations the wheel makes over a given distance and speed is measured by counting the rotations and multiplying by a nominal circumference to give the speed.
If you want to know your real speed use gps as the readout will always be more accurate than a mechanical/electrical speedometer.

[patana]

I've been using Waze for 5 years now, and I've never gone back to Google Maps to be my daily.