TMC (free of charge)
Everyone with a car radio can receive traffic information – Traffic Message Channel, in short, TMC, is the keyword. The data is received via RDS (Radio Data System). TMC is based upon the so-called journalistic data of the:
The information is collected, verified and stored on a server which RDS capable broadcasters have access to. TMC’s advantage is that it is free of charge. The disadvantage: the data is inaccurate and not available in real-time.
The freely available TMC is standard with Destinator 6 for PDAs. All you need is a TMC capable GPS receiver. There are, however, better and above all more precise means of obtaining up-to-date traffic information.
Destinator 6 also includes:
- Full 7 digit postcodes:
Navigate directly to your destination simply by entering the postcode - how easy is that!
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Destinator 6 for PDAs & TrafficSam: Convenience at its best
TrafficSam, a Destinator 6 product variant, is a product in its own right and not an add-on. Initially it will only be available for PDAs.
Under normal circumstances, once a consumer has purchased TMC, it is only available in the country of purchase. As soon as they have left that country they can only use the standard TMC function.
Destinator Technologies has signed cooperation agreements with service providers in the UK. This means that as soon as the once only charge for TMC pro has been paid in the UK, the service will also be available to the UK customer in France and Germany as well. This service will be extended to include other countries in the future.
Destinator 6 for PDAs & TrafficSam: The advantages
• Precise traffic information directly from a TMC-Pay-Service-Provider.
• Traffic information is always up-to-date and red-hot.
• You only pay once.
• TrafficSam continues to function even when national borders are crossed.
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Trafficmaster established the first traffic monitoring network on the M25 in 1990, since then the Trafficmaster network now covers over 8,000 miles of motorway and trunk roads in England, Scotland and Wales.
Trafficmaster, has the most comprehensive, accurate and dynamic traffic monitoring network in the UK. This is due to a number of factors, such as:
• Trafficmaster's real-time traffic information is derived from continuous data supplied by a network of 7,500 sensor sites that consist of:
-Fixed infra-red sensors mounted on motorway over-bridges.
-Passive Target Flow Measurement 'blue pole' cameras, installed at the roadside on trunk roads.
• Traffic information is updated on a three-minute cycle, ensuring that the user is always supplied with the current status on traffic conditions for the Trafficmaster network.
• Trafficmaster data does not depend on anecdotal input such as telephone calls from bystanders or motorists caught up in congestion. All traffic information supplied to Trafficmaster in-vehicle or stand-alone products, telephone information services or the internet site is derived, computed and disseminated automatically, ensuring fast, accurate delivery to the customer.
Traffic information data is further enhanced by additional information gained from RAC Live and other incident based recording databases.
Network Map:
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Motorways - Infra-Red
The UK motorway network uses Infra-Red (IR) technology. Bridge mounted sensors sited over either the fast lane on two-lane motorways or the centre lane on three-lane motorways monitor the speed of the traffic breaking two infra-red beams projected on to the carriageway. The Trafficmaster system automatically feeds data to the control centre about the speed of traffic on motorways across the UK.
Trunk Roads - PTFM
Trunk roads use a different technology to cater for the different traffic patterns experienced on such roads. Traffic turns off at junctions and may stop in lay-bys, at shopping centres etc, so simple speed measurement would not generate quality data. Passive Target Flow Measurement (PTFM) uses number plate recognition technology to ''grab'' the four centre digits of a vehicle number plate. This is turned into a four figure electronic ''tag'' on site – no number plate data is retained.
As the vehicle proceeds along the road and passes the next site(s), average journey times between sites are calculated and sophisticated computer programmes establish the speed of the traffic over those ''links''. In a seamless process, traffic speed on that particular section of road is then delivered to the traffic information product.
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