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1. The application will not install.

SafeTripNJ was intended for Android versions 4.0 and higher. It should install properly on those versions and subversions of the OS. Try uninstalling any previous versions of SafeTripNJ before installing a new version. Otherwise, a phone reboot before installation may solve the issue.

2. I've started the app, but I am not hearing any advisories, what's going on?

Several items can be occurring if you are no longer hearing advisories:

  • Make sure you have pressed the "Driving Mode" button on the home screen.
  • You may be in an area where no advisories are in the radius you selected. If you think there should be, try pressing the "replay all" button on the far right of the audio controls. This will reset your connection and replay active advisories near you.
  • Your advisory radius may be set to a low value.
  • You may not be in range of a cell tower to provide data access. Ask a passenger to look at the phone (or when you are stopped) to check for any possible error messages related to the cellular network. Once you are back in range of your network, advisories should resume.
  • Your phone may be simply attempting to acquire a location for your device. If you have wireless location (settings -> location -> use wireless networks) enabled, you can generally get quicker response times as the phone can utilize this less accurate location while it acquires a more solid GPS lock. If you only have GPS location enabled, allow the device sufficient time to acquire a lock.

If the app is still not working as expected, then perhaps there was a problem with the download or installation of the app. When not driving, uninstall the app and re-download and install it in a place where you have access to the internet.

3. I am sitting in traffic/an incident and SafeTripNJ did not tell me about it. Why?

You may be arriving to the incident before it has arrived to our system. If you don't hear an advisory shortly, then there could be other factors.

Your phone may have lost internet access. Some areas have weak cellular coverage, so this is possible from time to time. The app will not work without internet access, but when it loses internet access, it will continue to try to automatically reconnect.

If the app is still not working as expected, then perhaps there was a problem with the download or installation of the app. When not driving, uninstall the app and re-download and install it in a place where you have access to the internet.

4. SafeTripNJ continues to tell me "There are no active advisories". Shouldn't it be silent?

If the app continues to say that there are no current advisories, your phone may have lost internet access. Some areas have weak cellular coverage, so this is possible from time to time. The app will not work without internet access, and when it loses internet access, it will continue to try to automatically reconnect. When SafeTripNJ automatically reconnects, the "No advisories" message will be replayed when there are no advisories.

5. SafeTripNJ is giving me advisories that are in an incorrect location. Doesn't it know where I am?

Your phone may not have updated your location to your current position. You should check your phone's GPS Settings-make sure the phone's GPS is turned on and the phone has a clear view of the sky so your GPS can be read and your location and direction of travel identified. This process may take several minutes. If SafeTripNJ experiences a GPS error, it will be displayed in red on the main screen.

6. The screen shows that advisories are playing, why can't I hear them?

If the screen displays that an advisory is playing, but you cannot hear it, turn up your phone's media volume. There are typically volume controls on the side of the phone, but each phone model may function differently. Check the user guide for your particular phone.

You may also have connected to a Bluetooth connection in your car that is not currently active. Please check the Bluetooth settings (see #13 below).

7. How do I minimize the SafeTripNJ App to leave it running in the background while I use my phone for other functions?

You can click the "home" button and SafeTripNJ will continue to play advisories for you while you use other phone functions. If you just want to turn off the sound from playing, simply toggle the "Main Switch" on the home screen to "Off". To have sounds resume playing again, toggle it back to the "on" position.

Alternately, you may tap your phone's back button. A dialogue window will appear with options to Minimize the app (advisories will play in the background), Quit the app (quit and close completely), or cancel (return to app). Select "Minimize". If you have an action bar, tap the "x" icon, which will bring up the same dialogue window. Select "Minimize".

8. How do I close the SafeTripNJ App?

From the homepage of the app, tap the "x" icon in the top right corner of the screen. A dialogue window will appear with options to Minimize the app (advisories will play in the background), Quit the app (quit and close completely), or cancel (return to app). Select "Quit App". Alternately, you may tap your phone's back button, which will bring up the same dialogue window. Select "Quit App".

9. Advisories were playing, but suddenly playback stopped, what's happening?

Be sure first that you are still connected to your provider's cellular network. (You need to be connected to receive the sound files). If you are connected, the most likely reason for the playback to stop is that another application began playback of another audio file and halted the SafeTripNJ application's audio stream. If this occurs, simply switch back into the SafeTripNJ application and press "play" to continue SafeTripNJ audio. If hitting play does not resume the audio or you wish to re-hear all advisories, press the "Replay" button on the far right of the audio controls to restart your connection.

10. I cannot retrieve a connection upon startup of the application, what's happening?

Either you are not in an area where the cellular data network is not available, or permissions for network usage have been disabled for SafeTripNJ. Ensure your network is within range, and permissions have been set to allow access for this application.

If the app is still not working as expected, then perhaps there was a problem with the download or installation of the app. When not driving, uninstall the app and re-download and install it in a place where you have access to the internet.

11. How do I change the settings?

With the SafeTripNJ app open, access "Settings" by tapping the button on bottom right corner of the app. You may return back to the main screen by tapping the phone's "back" button.

12. Can I view the travel advisories on a map?

Yes. This version of the app has a map which should be accessed by a passenger or when not driving. From the home screen, you can press the “Traffic Map” button to view a “follow me” map with your location and the location of active audio advisories. Advisories that are within your range are pinned on the map as triangles. Tap on an incident to view the advisory text.

13. When I connect my cellphone via Bluetooth to the car, I cannot hear the alerts.

SafeTrip NJ attempts to play via Bluetooth through compatible setups, but unfortunately not all Bluetooth users/devices will work well. Bluetooth functionally varies greatly between car manufacturers, and different users have very different Bluetooth experiences.

Smartphones generally have two output channels that can be Bluetooth paired - one is the audio of a telephone conversation, and the other is the audio from media being generated by an application (like the SafeTrip NJ app). Most often cars Bluetooth-pair to the telephone audio by default, so that a telephone call will be automatically broadcast to the car's audio system via Bluetooth, interrupting any other audio playing through the system.

However, in order to broadcast media from your smartphone, a second pairing to the audio system of the car must be performed. Most often you will simply need to check the option on your smartphone's settings to allow sharing of the "Media Audio" (but you need to have the car running, and your phone in the car so that it can see the active Bluetooth). Once you make this pairing, you will no longer hear any media audio output from your smartphone, since the audio is being sent out by way of Bluetooth transmission.

Now, to hear the SafeTrip NJ advisories (or other media) on your smartphone through the Bluetooth connection in your car you must select the proper audio input on your cars system. Usually cars have a separate control that allows selection of a variety of input modes, such as SAT, AM, FM, CD or Bluetooth media (or just Media). Select Bluetooth Media (or media) and you will hear both your music and SafeTrip NJ advisories through the car's audio system.

If you want to continue hearing alerts through your smartphone instead of the car audio system, and the Bluetooth automatically paired with the phone, you may need to disconnect the Bluetooth audio channel (this process will differ for each car manufacturer). As Bluetooth connections, car audio systems and mobile technology continue to evolve, we will be keeping on top of the Bluetooth issues and functionality, but there will likely be many differences among cars and devices.

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