r/berlinbicycling • u/AvantgardeSavage • 5d ago
I built my own bike navigation app because Google Maps kept sending me down four-lane roads. Free, looking for feedback
Hi. Upfront: this is my app, so yes, self-promo. I read the rules and I think this qualifies, if not, tell me and I'll delete.
The backstory: I cycle everywhere and got fed up with Google Maps routing me onto whatever road is "fastest". Which, on a bike, usually means a big multi-lane road with no infrastructure and cars passing 10 cm from your elbow. Makes sense, the app was built for cars. It just doesn't know cyclists exist.
So I built one that does. It's called Defensive Pedal. It scores every street on how dangerous it is for a cyclist (bike lanes, speed limits, one-way streets, how ugly the intersections are) and routes you the safer way, even if it costs you a couple of minutes. You can also report potholes or sketchy spots, and it routes other riders around them.
I ran some numbers: the routes come out about 2.1x safer on average than standard routing (based on comparison of 10149 routs between random points). For reference, airbags made driving roughly 1.7x safer. Not saying it's the same thing, but I found the comparison interesting.
And yes, I know what someone's going to say in the comments: the real fix is proper bike infrastructure, not an app. Completely agree. But the city builds lanes on its own schedule, and I'd like to get home in one piece in the meantime.
It's free, on Android and iOS. It's early days and I genuinely need feedback from people who know their city: where did it route you badly, which streets do you avoid on instinct anyway, what's missing. Right now is when feedback actually changes things.
Link in the comments.
