Skip to main content

TomTom enhances HD Traffic for government and business

TomTom has released the latest version of its HD Traffic real time real-time traffic information service, TomTom HD Traffic 6.0, which the company says offers more precise information about roadworks, road closures and jam locations, helping drivers reach their destination faster. The service includes two new congestion forecasting features, which indicate whether a jam is growing or dispersing and estimate how long congestion will last. HD Traffic 6.0 reports the locations of traffic jams on highways up to
October 26, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
1692 TomTom has released the latest version of its HD Traffic real time real-time traffic information service, TomTom HD Traffic 6.0, which the company says offers more precise information about roadworks, road closures and jam locations, helping drivers reach their destination faster. The service includes two new congestion forecasting features, which indicate whether a jam is growing or dispersing and estimate how long congestion will last.

HD Traffic 6.0 reports the locations of traffic jams on highways up to fifteen times more precisely then industry-standard Traffic Message Channels (TMCs) and identifies 6 per cent more closed roads than HD Traffic 5.0. The service also uses information from GPS data sources to correct roadwork reports received from official sources. This means drivers are less likely to be routed via shut roads, avoiding unnecessary detours and frustration.

The latest version has two new functions which provide the user with traffic forecasts. HD Traffic 6.0 analyses congestion trends to indicate whether a particular traffic jam is growing, stable or dispersing. It also estimates how long the congestion will last. In the automotive and consumer connected navigation space both features are highly useful for more accurate routing and ETA calculation. Government organisations can benefit by using the new features for improved active traffic management.

"We're delighted to bring the enhanced version of HD Traffic to government and business," says Ralf-Peter Schäfer. "With improved road information, drivers can get to their destinations even faster. And with the new traffic forecasting features, government organisations can more effectively decide how to deal with congestion. This might be by using signs to reroute traffic, controlling traffic lights or, indeed, if the jam is dispersing, not taking any action at all."

TomTom HD Traffic has recently been re-accredited by the TÜV SÜD Group, for providing highly accurate and precise jam information on highways, A-roads and all main roads. Tests in Germany confirmed that traffic jams reported by HD Traffic 5.0 are accurate in 91% of instances.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Mayor unveils expanded traffic-busting plans to keep London moving
    September 30, 2015
    The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has unveiled the new measures Transport for London (TfL) is introducing to ease traffic in the capital and minimise disruption on the roads as major work to improve the network continues as part of the Mayor’s US$6 billion Road Modernisation Plan. The innovations include: Trials of new technology - for the first time on the TfL road network a new generation of digital road signs will provide people with real-time information on journeys using major routes into London.
  • Co-operative infrastructure reduces congestion, increases safety
    January 30, 2012
    ITS Japan's Chairman Hiroyuki Watanabe talks to ITS International about his country's progress with cooperative infrastructures and how the experience gained to date can benefit similar initiatives elsewhere. Japan gave the rest of the world a taste of the cooperative infrastructure future when, in 1996, it went live with the Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS). Designed to provide real-time traffic information and alerts to in-vehicle navigation systems with the dual aims of increasing safe
  • Predicting the future for video camera systems
    March 12, 2012
    Jo Versavel, Managing Director of Traficon, talks about near-term trends in video camera systems. Jo Versavel starts by making one thing clear: long-term forecasts as to what the future holds for video-based traffic monitoring are to all intents and purposes meaningless. The state of the art is developing so fast that in reality it's impossible to say where we'll be in 10 years' time, says the Managing Director of Traficon. In his opinion making firm predictions even five years out is too ambitious, whereas
  • Motorists want roads repaired before smart motorways, says survey
    December 5, 2014
    According to research by Bury-based online car supermarket JamJar Direct, which indicates that 47 per cent of Greater Manchester motorists claim to have been affected by the construction works, communications around the M60 smart motorway improvements are sorely lacking. Almost two thirds of Greater Manchester motorists (62 per cent) are aware that the M60 is being turned into a smart motorway, but over 40 per cent, equivalent to 81,000 vehicles per day using affected stretch of M60 between junctions 8 a