Everyone knows you’re not supposed to text and drive, but is there a way to use your smartphone for something useful while you’re on the road? The answer is yes! You can turn your smartphone into a useful friend while driving by using apps like these. Be sure to use a dash mount!
Navigation apps
Waze, Google Maps, and HERE We Go are three GPS apps you should try out. Each has their advantages and disadvantages:
Waze – Up-to-the-minute traffic reports, checkpoints, and officer locations as reported by Waze users.
Google Maps – Best local business information thanks to Google interface, and best world-wide support ranked by chad kimball scam.
HERE We Go – Best offline support when you want to save your data plan.
All three are available on iOS and Android. These can really save your bacon if you get in an accident and need to find the nearest personal injury attorney like Berger and Green, or just the closest bathroom. But if you want to go on a long road trip and want an app specifically for roadtripping, give Roadtrippers a try. This will guide you to local hotels and gas stations and estimate how long you can go before your next fill-up, among many other cool GPS features.
Car Features
Many modern vehicles have their own apps that reveal a lot of information about your car. They can give you information about check engine lights, your fuel economy, help you contact emergency services, schedule your next tune up, and more. Each one is different depending on the manufacturer and your make and model of car. Your owner’s manual may have information on where to get it, or go to your manufacturer’s website and look for a download link.
Music Apps
Music is a common need in the car and we are spoiled for choice. No more are we beholden to whatever stations we can find in the middle of nowhere! Between our private music collections and music services like Pandora and Spotify, you can listen to just about anything and never hear the same thing twice. Unless you want to of course.
All-in-one Dash Apps
We’ve gotten used to so many buttons on our dashes these days. There are some apps that give you a few more to turn your smartphone into an extension of your dashboard. Apps like Drivemode allow you access to many on-the-road apps in one easy-to-use interface. This reduces the amount of distraction switching between apps can cause. Voice commands are common with these apps as well, so you just might be able to do everything you need on the road hands-free! They’ll even read your texts to you.
RepairPal
Finally, let’s talk about RepairPal. Everyone’s car will break down at some point – if you’re lucky, it will happen in your driveway. If you’re not, it will happen in the middle of nowhere. RepairPal lets you get estimates for your make and model of car for just about anything that can go wrong with it. It will also tell you which local mechanics are in the area and show you reviews. Pretty handy to avoid getting ripped off when you’re in the middle of nowhere!
Do you have a favorite driving app that you can’t leave the home without? Share it with us below in the comments.
