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Directions Distance Calculator

Driving Distance Calculator works out Straight-line distance and Road distance used from Origin latitude, Origin longitude and Destination latitude. The default figures on this page give road distance used of 2,934.675; change any entry and the result, the working and the sources update together.

Road distance used
2,934.675
Distance Between Places Calculator
Straight-line distance
2,445.563
Distance unit
mi
Straight-line distance
3,935.7517 km
Straight-line distance
2,445.5627 mi
Where the road distance came from
straight line scaled by a circuity factor of 1.2
Initial bearing
65.919 deg
Direction of travel
ENE
Driving time
48.9113 h
Driving time
2,934.68 min
Total time including stops
2,934.68 min
Total travel time
48 h 55 min
Worked out from R. W. Sinnott, "Virtues of the Haversine", Sky and Telescope 68(2), 159 and 3 other sources.
The road distance is an estimate: the straight line multiplied by a circuity factor. Real road distance depends on the actual network and can differ substantially, especially across water, mountains or a coastline. Enter the routed distance from a maps provider for a real figure.
Driving time here is constant-average-speed arithmetic. It accounts for no traffic, road works, weather or rest requirements, and is not an arrival guarantee.

Your figures

Updates as you type
Place names have to be geocoded by a maps provider, so this calculator takes coordinates.
IUGG mean radius by default. Use 6371 to match textbook worked examples.
If you have the routed road distance, enter it here and it is used instead of the circuity estimate. 0 means estimate it.
How much longer the road is than the straight line. Around 1.2 for typical urban road networks; higher in mountains, along coasts or across water.

How this is worked out

4 steps
  1. Great-circle distance between the two points on a sphere of radius 6371.0088 km: 2445.5627 mi.
  2. Initial bearing 65.92 degrees (ENE).
  3. Estimated road distance = 2445.563 x 1.2 = 2934.675 mi.
  4. At 60 mph that is 48.911 hours of driving - 48 h 55 min.

Its 4 worked examples are re-run on every release, last on 15 September 2026. What changed

Sources and references

4 sources
R. W. Sinnott, "Virtues of the Haversine", Sky and Telescope 68(2), 159
1984 · The great-circle distance, computed here by the shared great-circle engine.
D. J. Giacomin and D. M. Levinson, "Road network circuity in metropolitan areas", Environment and Planning B 42(6)
2015 · Circuity is the ratio of network distance to Euclidean distance; the paper measures it across the fifty-one largest US metropolitan areas.
R. H. Ballou, H. Rahardja and N. Sakai, "Selected country circuity factors for road travel distance estimation", Transportation Research Part A 36(9)
2002 · Country-level circuity factors for estimating road distance from straight-line distance. Newell (1980) put the typical urban figure near 1.2, which is the default here.
Google Maps Routes API documentation
Where a real geocode and road route would come from. This engine takes coordinates and, optionally, the provider road distance as inputs.

What the Driving Distance Calculator calculates

Computes the straight-line distance and initial bearing between two locations given by coordinates, estimates the road distance using a circuity factor or a road distance you supply, and turns it into a driving time.

How to use this Driving Distance Calculator

Enter Origin latitude, Origin longitude, Destination latitude and Destination longitude. Straight-line distance updates as you type. Change one figure at a time to see what drives the result.

How the result is worked out

Open “How this is worked out” beside the result for the step-by-step calculation behind Straight-line distance, Road distance used and Distance unit.

The method follows R. W. Sinnott, "Virtues of the Haversine", Sky and Telescope 68(2), 159, D. J. Giacomin and D. M. Levinson, "Road network circuity in metropolitan areas", Environment and Planning B 42(6), R. H. Ballou, H. Rahardja and N. Sakai, "Selected country circuity factors for road travel distance estimation", Transportation Research Part A 36(9) and Google Maps Routes API documentation.

What you can compare

Change one input at a time to see how it affects Straight-line distance, Road distance used and Distance unit. The inputs you can vary are Origin latitude, Origin longitude, Destination latitude, Destination longitude, Distance unit and Earth radius.

Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice. Check any decision that matters with a qualified professional.

Embed this calculator on your website

Copy this code into any page. The calculator appears with the figures currently entered, sizes itself to fit, and a small credit line links back here. Free, no account, no ads inside it, no tracking of your readers. Set your own figures and fixed fields; Personal removes the credit line, sets your colour and shows you which sites use it.

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Frequently asked questions

How can I calculate my driving distance?

Computes the straight-line distance and initial bearing between two locations given by coordinates, estimates the road distance using a circuity factor or a road distance you supply, and turns it into a driving time. Open “How this is worked out” beside the result to see each step for your own figures.

How to find distance in miles between two locations?

It needs Origin latitude, Origin longitude, Destination latitude, Destination longitude, Distance unit and Earth radius. Nothing else is required, and the figures stay in your browser.

Can I Measure road distance on Google Maps?

Computes the straight-line distance and initial bearing between two locations given by coordinates, estimates the road distance using a circuity factor or a road distance you supply, and turns it into a driving time. On the figures this page opens with — origin latitude 0 deg, origin longitude 0 deg and destination latitude 0 deg — the road distance used is 2,934.675. Put your own figures in their place and the working updates beside the result.

How can I calculate the distance between two points?

The result gives Straight-line distance, Road distance used, Distance unit, Where the road distance came from, Initial bearing and Direction of travel, each labelled with its unit so the figure can be read on its own.

What information do I need for the Driving Distance Calculator?

You need Origin latitude, Origin longitude, Destination latitude, Destination longitude, Distance unit, Earth radius, Road distance from your maps provider and Road circuity factor. The page opens with default figures that give road distance used of 2,934.675, so you can see the scale before entering your own.

What does this Driving Distance Calculator show?

It shows Straight-line distance, Road distance used, Distance unit, Where the road distance came from, Initial bearing, Direction of travel, Driving time and Total time including stops, with the working and any warnings for your entries.

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