WSDOT 4+

Add CarPlay support & Remove Ads!

This App would be more helpful if it supported use in CarPlay. Considering it’s illegal to use a mobile device/phone while driving in WA it’s entrapment that this app doesn’t support use through a car’s onboard systems. Most cars from Hondas to Fords to Toyotas and Audi and Volvo are just a few major brands that support CarPlay now. CarPlay support would make using this type of app safer AND legal while driving!

Want to see chain/up areas...

Well you can't. You can click on individual passes and see what conditions are. And you can see traffic speeds. But you don't know will I need to chain up with 4wd at all, 10 miles out, 25 miles out? how cool would it be to just see a live map layer of chain up areas under different conditons for cars and trucks. How nice would it be for state patrol to know drivers who start from most anywhere in WA will arrive with full knowledge where chain up/off will happen? And guess what, California where it doesn't even snow in most areas, does this so well on web and app. C'mon WDOT, do better!

In response to WADOT: with all due respect: consider for just a moment the time and money spent by DOT and delayed drivers because of lack of timely chain information in one place for all state highways. They consider how widespread adoption is of mobile phones, and finally how good mobile services is along all WA state highways. It is not so hard to deploy tools that update real time chain up requirements for big rigs and passenger vehicles on all WA highways.

Please take this under consideration to improve safety and efficiency of state roads.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for the inquiry. We have several specific chain up/off areas that are used most of the time, however, these locations and requirements can change at any time. The location of our planned chain up/off areas for Snoqualmie pass are available on the webpage in the bulleted list under the forecast: https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/mountainpasses/Snoqualmie and are also displayed on VMS signs up on the pass when that requirement is applicable. Posting those locations elsewhere besides the VMS signs isn’t in our best interest as actual chain-up locations are highly variable. As snow squalls pass through; and as snowplows clear, salt, and sand the roadways; the chain requirements change, often quite rapidly. Also, on busy routes like I-90, the chain-up location can change as one chain area becomes full and trucks have to be directed to a different one.

The best source for chain up information will always be our VMS signs up on the pass which display real-time information 24/7. Hope that helps explain why!

Very useful but not perfect

I live in the islands, commute to work on another island and use this app several times a week. When ferries are running on time, it’s very useful. When service is disrupted, the app becomes less useful. I agree with other reviewers that real time updates are needed. Also, the booth workers in Anacortes claim that the app is not reliable as far as quotas, which also seems like a gap that needs to be mended. The app still is very useful for making or altering reservations on the go, or checking to see how much space is left on the ferry you’re gunning for. Having the local numbers for ferry landings is a good back up as is knowing how to interpret Vessel Watch. The more fluent you become in “ferry”, the more useful the app becomes.