marylsommers: App of the week: Live Traffic Info

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

App of the week: Live Traffic Info

Stuck in traffic on the M1? Spot the traffic black spots and plot an alternative route with the Highways Agency's app

App: Live Traffic Info

By: Highways Agency

Price: Free

Available on: iOS 3.0 or later

What is it?

Get real-time updates on the traffic situation on England's A roads and motorways region by region, with warnings about roadworks and incidents ? discover that jam on the M25 before you find yourself bumper to bumper and unable to plot an alternative course. It's by the people who operate, maintain and improve the strategic road network, so it's got to be good, right?

What does it promise?

"This app will home in on your current location to give you the traffic news when and where you need it. Plan your journey, arrive safe and less frustrated, reduce congestion and lower emissions," it says. It does this with "official data collected from thousands of vehicle monitors, CCTV and patrol reports to show where the Highways Agency network is flowing well and to keep you up-to-date with traffic incidents as they break throughout the day".

Is it easy to use?

Yes and no. It's a piece of cake to operate: open it up, select your region and you're presented with a list of incidents/roadworks and a colour code saying (I presume, although there's no key) how serious an incident is. When you click into each listing you get a more detailed description of what has happened, and when normal driving conditions are expected to resume.

However, given that the lists are dominated by road and junction numbers they look very data heavy, and scrolling through them to try and locate an incident near you is nigh on impossible at any reasonable speed (that is speed as in urgency, not mph, because of course ? as the app keeps reminding you ? you shouldn't use the live traffic news device while driving).

Is it fun?

It could be if you manage to spot a traffic black spot before you reach it and plot an alternative route; less so if you fire up the app while stuck in traffic only for it to confirm that yes, you are in the middle of a three-mile tailback. Or worse, if it says traffic conditions are fine, but your static vehicle suggests otherwise ? this hasn't happened to me (yet), but according to the reviews in the app store it's a real possibility.

The traffic radio, which was a particularly useful feature, has also been turned off ? but the agency is apparently considering proposals to resume this service, having advertised the licence earlier in the year.

Is it pretty?

Visually it's a bit uninspiring. The familiar Highways Agency logo with the H forming a bridge over the A of a road is present and correct, but the red and blue motif just reminds me of the Metro newspaper website. Some of the text ? in particular the mobile use/driving warning ? looks low resolution.

Should you download it?

With traffic delays apps I work on the principle of more is more. The Highways Agency effort is by no means a standalone gem ? but it's free. And coupled with the free iPhone and Android-compatible RAC app, which also covers Scotland and Wales, and has a map-based system for highlighting traffic problems, you can compare the two sets of information for a cover-all traffic safety net.

Jim Griffin