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agentxstealth OP t1_iu8xmaq wrote

Reply to comment by ChucklesP79 in Ever felt unsafe walking along the streets of Baltimore late at night? by agentxstealth

I thought about this while building the app. After the app calculates the safest route the gps navigation takes over (just like google maps), and the user is free to look at his surroundings instead of constantly having to look at his phone. Maybe you should download the app and try it yourself if you have any more questions.

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ChucklesP79 t1_iu94lh0 wrote

I only have my experiences and those of people choose to me, but I don't see this working because:

  1. I think people who use GPS rely on the visual side moreso than the audio side.
  2. I think people who walk home safely at night in urban areas tend to be more street smart. Those people already have a familiar route. Taking a new route in the dark seems like a recipe for disaster. People flub GPS directions all the time.
  3. I think the people who are uncomfortable walking are going to call an Uber.
  4. I think people who are uncomfortable both walking and using Uber at night aren't the type of people to be going out at night anyway.
  5. I think people already uncomfortable going out in the dark at night aren't going to be suddenly more comfortable.
  6. If it were to take off on a large scale, criminals would just use the app to see what routes people walk. I would just put in a popular bar address and a college campus address and I know what route is "safest".

I think your heart is in the right place but I just don't see it working out. Good luck to you, but I'd take your app development skills and try a different app.

All is my opinion, though

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agentxstealth OP t1_iu95xn5 wrote

  1. People using GPS definitely use the visual side as a guide, but to say they are glued to their phones is definitely an exaggeration.

  2. This is true, there are definitely some people who know the streets very well and don't need the know the safest route. However, to say most people who walk home at night fall in this category is also an exaggeration.

  3. But what if the person doesn't want to waste money on an Uber?

  4. I think this app could have a lot of use for college students walking to parties late at night or little kids who are walking home from school.

  5. I think the app will definitely help those walking at night feel safer knowing the locations of nearby crimes.

  6. I also thought about this while building the app. The user has the ability to choose between a plethora of options that maximize their preferences for safety and speed, they are not just being forced to choose one route. Moreover, the routes are all calculated from where the user is located, so different users will get different routes depending on their individual locations in the city. Lastly, the database is getting updated hourly with new data from the past day that could change the recommended routes, so if a criminal catches someone it would most likely be due to random chance rather than because the app is making the user more vulnerable.

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