While inactivity can be a very strong reason to change habits, ultimately, with something as important as safety and peace of mind behind the wheel, it’s important to experiment until you find the right fit. The best possible app for driving, even if that means going through the checkout process. I started with Google Maps but switched to Waze years ago and have stayed there.

All this time I have been a heavy user of Android Auto (as well as Apple CarPlay) and have used all kinds of radar detection apps on my travels, from free options like ‘Fixed and Mobile Radars’ or ‘SocialDrive’ to other paid options. Like Coyote. But in the end I always come back to Waze. Reason? It offers me radars and much more.

Let’s face it, I live in Madrid and I always get there on foot or using public transport, my car use is limited to trips to Pamplona every two or three weeks, and in the Navarrese capital I move mostly on four wheels: Going to the beach (80 km away), to play paddle tennis in clubs in industrial sites, or to get away to the mountains. It is important to define this point What kind of driver am I?Because the needs of a person who devotes himself to transporting goods or people as a taxi driver or deliveryman are of course different.

Problem with radar detection applications

Taking into account my driving habits, I came to this conclusion: I don’t have to pay rent, This is a handicap for many radar applications paid directly or having relevant premium functions that fall outside the free package. The first case is Coyote’s case, the second is CamSam or Radarbot’s case.

Coyote premium interface on Android

Databases and radar types. The purpose of a radar detection application is to ensure that no single radar is missed in a given road network, regardless of its type: fixed radars, mobile radars, section radars, helicopters, stealth radars (velolaser). Nowadays, almost every popular GPS navigation app like Maps, Waze, TomTom AmiGo, Sygic, Maps.me has fixed radars, and mobile radars are abundant (although there are more differences here).

After all, there’s not much mystery in marking a radar that’s always been there, but critics are wandering. here Waze takes the lead thanks to its communityIt has the ability to raise an alarm within a few minutes if it detects radar at a point, directly or undercover police checks, or if someone exceeds speed control and is subsequently stopped by the police for punishment. The speed and efficiency of the Waze community is second to none, and it’s a fish biting its tail: the more people use it, the larger the community and the better it gets at these tasks. Of course, in addition to the speed cameras that appear, it also effectively warns you not to miss them.

In short, in my experience, Waze doesn’t have much to envy the best speed camera apps. But it has another feature: When you try a radar application, you discover that although it works absolutely well in its main function of revealing these speed measurement tools, it neglects other parts such as the interface or cartography. Here GPS navigation apps generally have better design. To taste, colors, but Waze has a very clear design and ordinary, but not precise.

Why do I use Waze instead of the speed camera app? Because I don’t want to spend money for my needs and under this premise the app offers me a complete and satisfactory overall experience in terms of both radar alert and navigation.

Cover | Álvaro García and Vs icons created by Freepik – Flaticon, Radar icons created by Freepik – Flaticon

Xataka on Android | I’ve tried the main free apps with speed camera alerts for Android Auto and it’s clear to me that these are the best