Traffic Reporting by GPS Tracking Gets an Upgrade
Unable to break old habits, some drivers still rely on radio reports to warn them that their normally-smooth ride to work is going to hit a snarl ahead. That was the only option a generation ago, but GPS tracking technology has forever changed the way we learn of traffic news. The GPS tracking application on your cell phone or on-board vehicle tracking and navigation system is much more up-to-date and accurate.
GPS tracking and live traffic reports are hot topics among users of vehicle tracking systems, who drive daily at great distances, and want to avoid gridlock at all costs.
Traffic reporting by vehicle tracking is customized for each vehicle, because of course it involves GPS tracking and navigation. A television or radio traffic update reports travel status in a general area.
GPS tracking satellites find you – or more accurately the vehicle tracking receiver in your car – and location is pinpointed on an interactive map. Traffic status is determined by reports from the field and the progress of a particular vehicle is based on vehicle tracking speed and direction.
Up until now, one of the biggest shortcomings of real-time traffic data on a wireless/GPS tracking system is the updating of traffic status. Drivers complain that they are already stuck in traffic when they get an alert. This was because the vehicle tracking reporting system didn’t get enough information fast enough to accurately tell drivers what’s ahead.
How Do Traffic Reports Utilize GPS Tracking?
Before, traffic sensors, strategically placed on major highways, counted cars in snapshots of time or noted their speed, to deduce if the road was flowing smoothly or backed up. Later, traffic reporting companies joined the vehicle tracking mix. They gathered data by placing GPS tracking transmitters on business vehicles like logistics companies. Unfortunately, there are flaws there, too. Commercial vehicles tend to travel at odd hours and avoid traffic tie-ups – that’s exactly the opposite kind of vehicle tracking information a traffic reporting company wants.
GPS tracking personal vehicles didn’t work because the drivers wanted to protect their privacy. Also, GPS tracking hardware was expensive. Drivers didn’t want to deal with the high-priced fees for transmitting vehicle tracking data.
What’s New About Traffic Reporting by Vehicle Tracking?
All that is changing, as wireless makers and service providers are developing sophisticated ways of vehicle tracking. Not only is GPS tracking more cost-effective now, drivers are more interested in the interactive features and special applications on their smartphones. Drivers now want to be part of an information network that employs “smarter” vehicle tracking. In many cases, if they volunteer to vehicle tracking for traffic purposes, drivers get the live traffic reporting application for free. The vehicle tracking information is reported anonymously to the traffic reporting network, so law enforcement has no grounds to use the GPS tracking data to bust someone for speeding or other traffic violations.
There is still one slight flaw in the up-to-date GPS tracking/traffic reporting solution. Vehicle tracking information varies by the type of smartphone. With some operating systems, GPS tracking data is reported continuously. If the handheld isn’t designed to multi-task, it will only perform vehicle tracking when the application is engaged. This will almost certainly be worked out as GPS tracking and wireless technologies further evolve.
By the end of the year, every highway, major arterial road and side street will have advanced GPS tracking and traffic reporting coverage, predicted one telecommunications executive. If that prediction comes true, drivers with vehicle tracking and traffic applications on their phones will be hitting the brakes and idling less often.
Tags: drivers, GPS Tracking, live, New Technology, Report, Systems, Traffic, Vehicle Tracking
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