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Until recently the traffic information you got through a GPS navigation system was mainly limited to major routes in metro areas. It often did little for drivers on secondary roads or in less populated areas. But that's changing. New services now provide expanded traffic info on a much wider range of routes, making them more helpful for daily use.
In addition to traditional traffic-info sources, such as road sensors, traffic cams, and helicopters, newer systems use crowd sourcing—the info is gathered from drivers who allow their location to be continuously and anonymously tracked through their cell phone or a "connected" GPS device. That allows you to see where traffic is slowing down or congested in real time, even on many secondary roads.
Google Maps, used in Android and Apple smart phones and on the Web, displays traffic-flow info with color-coded green, yellow, and red lines. And anecdotal accounts of staffers using the Google Maps app have found the info fairly accurate, although not perfect.
TomTom claims its new expanded service, HD Traffic, now covers 6 million miles of U.S. roads. The screen shows only areas of congestion, though, so you have to assume other roads are monitored and flowing freely. HD Traffic is available on selected models as part of a subscription package of connected services. After a one-year free trial, it costs $60 per year for GPS units or $20 annually for the iPhone app.
In our initial testing, we've also seen expanded coverage from Garmin's Digital 3D Traffic service, which is available free on the new $400 Nuvi 3490LMT. But we've also experienced poor signal strength and spotty reception in some areas, which resulted in no traffic information at all.
We'll provide updates in future issues.
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