Follow these tech tips to make commuting easier on your driving holiday

Planning a road trip? You will want to make sure your car is safe to travel. Tap or click here for five maintenance checks to perform each month.

AAA predicted that 54.6 million people will walk 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving. This represents a 1.5% increase over 2021 and 98% of pre-pandemic volumes. 49 million said they would travel by car.

This year was expected to be the third busiest for Thanksgiving travel since AAA began tracking in 2000. Here are some pro tips to save you time and money on your next road trip.

Find cheaper fuel

It might be worth driving a few extra miles for cheaper fuel, but it’s better to know where you’re going or you’ll waste more gas. Find the cheapest gas stations nearby using the Waze app. REMARK: Gasoline prices are externalized, so they are not always up to date.

Here’s how it works:

• Open the Waze application.
• Press the Where to go ? search bar, then press the Service stations icon.
• Your device will start searching for the nearest stations, with prices for each.

Want to see gas stations ranked by price? Here’s how:

• Open the Waze application.
• Faucet My Waze, then press the settings icon in the upper left corner.
• Faucet Service stations.
• Select Price in the Sort stations by section.

With Google Maps, you can search for gas stations in your area and along your route after entering directions in the app. Prices for each station will be displayed automatically. Tap or click here for instructions on saving gas with your map app.

You can also use the GasBuddy app. The app also has a savings program that lets you save up to 25 cents per gallon. You can save by submitting your receipt to GasBuddy or enrolling in its rewards program.

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Send an alert if you are late

When you’re running late, take a moment to let family and friends know when you’ll be with them by sharing your route.

To share your ETA in Google Maps:

• Faucet directionschoose your destination, then Begin.
• Swipe up and select Share trip progress.
• Choose a contact and press To share. Your location is only shared until you arrive.

To share your ETA in Apple Maps:

• Find your destination, then touch directions and choose your route.
• Once you are in browse mode, say “Hey Siri, share my ETA with my friend.”
• Say your friend’s name so Siri can recognize the person in your contact list. Your friend will receive a notification that you are on your way.

To share your ETA in Waze

• Start navigating to your destination, then touch Shared drive.
• You can use a messaging app, send an email, or tap After options to copy or save the link.
• Your recipient will receive a link where they can see your journey and your ETA.

Use voice commands

You want to have both hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road while driving. It can be difficult when trying to find your way around.

Use your voice instead. Try these commands, starting with “Hey Siri” or “OK, Google”:

• “Get directions to (insert location).”
• “Give me the way home.”
• “Where am I?”
• “How long until I arrive?”
• “Find a gas station.”

Plan when to leave the house

It’s easy to open your navigation app and see current traffic, but what if you want to see traffic conditions forecast tomorrow or next week?

Whether you use Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze, you can get a fairly accurate traffic forecast for a future date based on typical conditions for that day and time. Then you can fine-tune your departure time to find the perfect time to hit the road.

Here’s how to set a scheduled time and date for a trip in Google Maps:

• Open Google Maps and tap the Search here field.
• Enter a destination and select it from the results.
• Faucet directions then press the three dots button to the right of the Your location field.
• Faucet Set departure or arrival time.
• Select Departure at and enter a Date and timethen touch Do.
  • Or select arrives before and enter a Date and time then touch Do.
• You will get various route options and details such as time and distance.
• Select a route and touch Begin.

Here’s how to set a scheduled time and date for a trip in Apple Maps:

• Open the Maps app and tap the Search maps field.
• Type your destination and select it from the results.
• Faucet directionsthen touch I’m leaving NOW.
• Faucet Leaves atSelect a Date and time then press Do.
  • Or faucet arrives beforeSelect a Date and time, then press Do.
• You can see the traffic, distance and duration of your trip.
• Faucet Go next to the desired route.

Here’s how to set a scheduled time and date for a ride in Waze:

• Open the Waze application.
• Faucet My Waze, then Plan a trip.
• Faucet Plan a trip on the next screen to add a destination.
• Find your destination in Search bar.
• Choose the time and date you want to arrive at your destination, then tap to safeguard.
• Based on real-time traffic, Waze will remind you when it’s time to leave.

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Download your child’s or Kim’s voice for your Waze app

Waze offers more options for voice direction than other navigation apps. You can choose from a huge list of voices or even upload a voice to the app.

Your wife, your child or even your own voice can tell about your conduct. Here’s how:

• Open the Waze app on your iPhone or Android phone.
• Faucet My Wazethen the Settings gear icon.
• Faucet Voice & soundthen Waze Voice.
• Faucet Record a new voice.
• Tap the direction type you want to save, then tap the registration icon to start recording, then stop once you have finished.
• Faucet to safeguardthen repeat the above step for each direction.
• When you are done, press to safeguard in the upper right corner of your screen.

Or you can use Kim’s voice. Kim has recorded all driving directions and you can download her voice to your app (best to follow these steps on your phone). Here’s how:

• Make sure you have the Waze app installed on your phone.
• Tap this link to open Waze and you will find Kim Komando at the top of your screen, in the voice recorder section.
• Faucet Kim Komando to download Kim’s voice to your Waze.
• Faucet Kim Komando again to let Kim guide you to your destination.

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