I stopped trusting the fastest route in Google Maps. Here’s why

I used to follow the fastest route in Google Maps without giving it a second thought. If the app said I could save five minutes, I assumed there was no reason not to.

Then I started noticing something strange.

Sometimes I’d arrive feeling like I’d taken the long way around, even when Google Maps insisted I hadn’t. Other times, those few minutes I supposedly saved came with confusing turns, awkward roads, or unexpected traffic.

That made me start looking at the “fastest” route a little differently, and I realized there was a reason I kept preferring routes that Google Maps didn’t rank first.