How To Check Real-Time Traffic On Google Maps

Google Maps shows the real-time traffic status in most regions around the world, making it easy to check for traffic delays. The live traffic data incorporates anonymous information about the location and speed of vehicles and then uses that information to display how busy traffic conditions are in real-time. Since the information can sometimes offer insights into the political situation of a particular area, Google Maps has disabled the live traffic feature in Ukraine to protect civilians following the Russian invasion.

To show users different levels of traffic in any area, Google Maps uses various color codes that change in real-time. Each street is denoted in either green, orange, or red to indicate various levels of traffic. Green indicates reasonably clear roads with no traffic delays en route, while orange signifies medium traffic, meaning progress could be relatively slow. Red lines indicate highly congested streets, which could mean long delays along the way.

Google Maps allows users to view live traffic data on both the Android and iOS apps. To see this, open up the Google Maps app and tap on the Layers icon that looks like a stack of squares at the top-right corner of the app. A slide-out menu will pop out from the bottom of the phone’s screen. To see live traffic data, select Traffic from the list of available options and then close the menu by tapping on the ‘X’ at the top-right corner of the pop-up menu. The map will now show color-coded lines indicating the traffic status for all roads on the map.

View Live Traffic On The Google Maps Website

Users can also check live traffic data on the Google Maps website. To do this, open the Google Maps website on any modern web browser, like Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. Once the target region is opened up on the map, hover the cursor over the Layers icon at the bottom-left corner to expand the menu. The expanded menu will show a number of additional options, including Terrain, Transit, Traffic, and more. Click on Traffic to see color-coded lines along all the roads on the map.

As with the app, green, orange and red will indicate the level of traffic on these roads, enabling users to gauge the traffic in their area. To revert to the regular view, click on the Traffic option once again. Live traffic on Google Maps is a useful feature and is available across most parts of the world, which means users can take advantage of it to plan their routes in advance, no matter where they are.

Source: Google