Saturday, February 28, 2009.   Did you ever do a Mapquest or Google for directions to somewhere you already know how to get to?  And you wonder why they are taking you way out of the way along side streets, and not the fastest or most direct route?   Ok, that’s a rhetorical question.  A friend just told me that everyone knows they do that because they are making sure you pass their advertisers’ businesses.  Well, I didn’t know that and have no idea if it’s true, but it would certainly explain it.

I went to Ocala this morning and had not been there in a couple of years.  I knew I just took I-95 straight north and then took Highway 40 straight west into Ocala.  I was going to Cassadaga afterward, so I did a Google search to make sure I still knew the way.   It gave me a route taking me across 528 into Orlando and through a maze of tollroads, which saved me 3 miles but might take an extra hour simply because of Orlando traffic.

So then I did a MapQuest and they initially gave me the same directions, but Mapquest gives you the option to “Avoid” a particular route and gives you another choice.  When I clicked on Avoid for the 528 west exit, it took me straight north on I-95 to Hwy 40, which was the fastest, most direct and easiest.

Wouldn’t it be nice if every choice  we didn’t like had an “Avoid” button?