New plan to beat jams

Droving more could be the way to beat jams, if an official scheme to harness sat-nav data is a success

Auto Express Car Reviews

27th July 2007

The Department for Transport (DfT) wants to use the 200 million vehicle movements logged daily from users of Trafficmaster Smartnav, plus data from the firm’s 7,500 roadside sensors, to help banish congestion.

DfT planners will access future and past records – which so far include 70 billion movements gathered over 12 months – in the three-year deal.

All 50,000 Smartnav customers will contribute simply by driving, generating more useful statistics the further they go. Each time one hits a jam, they could be, ironically, helping prevent future tailbacks. That’s because their trip will provide an accurate picture of what actually happens on our highways. This ‘real-speed data’ will give planners a far more accurate picture, and highlight where routes need to be redesigned.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.