You’re probably already using Google Maps, Waze, or other navigation apps on your phone. If you do, then you’re fully aware of how genuinely invaluable they are in avoiding traffic jams and finding the shortest route to a destination!
But did you know that there are other car-related apps that you could use with your smartphone? Some can read messages out loud and send your replies via speech-to-text functions, while others provide live news about traffic situations and accidents. We’ve shortlisted 15 such car applications, and this article is all about exploring these technologies.
Are we encouraging you to text and drive? Good heavens, no! To safely use a traffic navigator, you can mount your phone on the dash and use it hands-free with voice navigation. Aside from Waze and similar apps, there are many more that you can use safely.
Most of these apps are free, so go ahead and see which of these 15 car-related apps you’d want to try first!
Mapping & Traffic Alert Apps
Of course, you know about Google Maps and Waze, so we did not include them anymore, though they're still the top apps to have.
1. Trapster – here’s one for outwitting traffic cops and avoiding tickets, shh! This app uses a crowd-sourced database and will alert you of the location of speed cameras, red-light cameras, and even live police speed traps.
2. Live Traffic NSW – this app is beneficial not only to drivers but travellers in general. Whether you're riding a bicycle, driving your car, or commuting via public transport, you'll benefit from real-time travelling updates and incident reports for all roads in NSW and across borders (ACT, QLD, SA, VIC). Get ahead with live info on floods, crashes, road works, fires, and public events that may hamper your trips.
3. VicTraffic – plan your trips and daily routes with VicRoads’ official traffic alert app. View road works and potential bottlenecks that may affect your travel. We find the map interface friendly and straightforward, and its predicted travel times on freeways are helpful.
4. AppStar Studios – with this app’s GPS, maps, and voice directions, you'll never find yourself getting lost and driving into dark alleys again. Aside from voice navigation assistance, it has many other features, including a digital compass, live 3D maps, and share-your-location function.
5. HERE WeGo – you can use this travelling app whether you’re on foot, biking, or driving a car, and whether you’re journeying locally or in a foreign land. Worried that you're going someplace without an internet connection? You’ll be glad to know that there’s still a way to use HERE WeGo offline!
Gas Price Apps
If you want to outsmart the bowsers and save more on gas money, driving around town to find the servo that retails the cheapest petrol isn’t the sane way to do it. What you should do instead is hit the info highway before hitting the road. Find below the best apps for comparing petrol prices in the country.
6. Petrol Spy Australia – now here’s one that Aussies made for Aussies! Like similar apps, it uses crowd-sourced data to compare fuel prices within your vicinity. Aside from petrol prices and station locations, you can also get hold of gas price cycle graphs to help you decide the best time to gas up. And don’t forget to do a good turn after you’ve refuelled—report the petrol price where you gassed up to help update the app’s data! It’s crowd-sourced, so be an active part of this collective effort.
7. GasBuddy – this free app works as a cheap gas finder wherever you are, and you can rely on its accuracy, especially in rural areas where Petrol Spy and other apps may not work so well.
8. Fuel Map Australia – another excellent app for locating servos and finding the cheapest gas price is another crowd-sourced app. Aside from the usual price comparison that it gives you within seconds, it also provides a log for you to keep track of your gas-ups and your car’s fuel efficiency. It’s one of the apps that show prices for special fuels, like Ad Blue, Biodiesel, E10/U94, E85/Ethanol 105, LPG, Premium, P95, P98, and U91. Not all apps have that feature.
9. Fair Fuel – save gas money with RACQ’s fair fuel finder. It takes your location and searches the surrounding areas for the cheapest gas retail prices. Once you’ve chosen a refuelling station, the app will give directions to get you there. Fair Fuel also provides price cycle info to let you know of the best time or day to fill up your tank.
10. NSW FuelCheck – the only state-developed and released petrol price monitoring app in Australia, the NSW FuelCheck is also the most accurate and easiest to use in Sydney.
Parking Apps
11. EasyPark – finding a space to park your car is a classic urban nuisance, but with EasyPark, it’s a walk in the park. Paying takes a few clicks on your phone, so it's totally stress-free. The app will notify you when your session is about to expire, and you can always extend it remotely if you’re staying longer than expected. Conversely, if you leave earlier than your session, you only need to pay for the time you used. They’ve thought of everything to make parking hassles a thing of the past!
12. CellOPark Australia – CellOPark makes it possible for you to pay for parking services through your cellphone and take advantage of its ‘Didn’t use CellOPark, Don’t Pay’ offer. In other words, you only pay for the time you used up. Unlike EasyPark, however, it doesn’t have a parking space finder.
Incident Reporting Apps
13. CAR or Car Accident Report - this app's interface is specially designed for users who had been in a vehicular accident (thus, are under stress). It facilitates collecting information related to the incident, including location, time, people and vehicle details, audio/photo/text content, and emailing of accident reports.
14. Accident Reporter – when your head spins with confusion from an accident, making a report can be a mind-bending task. This app will make things less of a perplexing exercise and help you manage what happens next. You'll be more systematic in gathering and documenting information, capturing photos, saving relevant facts like time and location, and collecting details from witnesses and other vehicles. It will facilitate making emergency calls and emailing your insurer.
Don’t Text & Drive Apps
We know that texting and driving is a notorious combination responsible for countless road deaths. Fortunately, various apps discourage texting while driving and help curb these rising statistics.
Here’s one:
15. OMW or On My Way – You're driving to a friend's house, and midway, there's a text or call asking if you've already left or what's taking you so long. Sounds familiar? This situation happens all the time—it could be your wife, or boss, or kid calling—and each time it does, you’re closer to a road mishap. Installing this free app on your phone can be your lifesaver next time you're on the freeway, so get it or its alternative! What does it do? The people you invite—could be your wife or friends—will be able to track your location, and the app will notify them of your arrival so they don't need to call or text.
One Resource for All Your Car Needs
So there you go, just a glimpse of what apps are available out there to make driving safer and more convenient for you. Learn something new every day from CarPartAU, and keep posted for more articles.
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By Jeannette Salanga (JMSL)