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TRAFFIC IS THE BANE of any city dweller with a car and a problem most commuters have had to make peace with. However, GPS navigation companies think they may have a solution. Garmin Live Traffic keeps you up to date with congestion data on roads in South Africa and will route you around problem areas – and it works.
The service itself is provided by technology group Altech, via its vehicle-tracking subsidiary Netstar. Monitoring the movement of vehicles fitted with Netstar technology, Altech is able to calculate traffic flow and identify problem areas. That information is then sent to your Garmin GPS using a radio technology called RDS. That’s how it works behind the scenes. However, I was sceptical about how effectively the technology would help me avoid the chaos of Sandton’s William Nicol in the morning.
The unit I was sent to test is a charger cable with the required receiver unit fitted to it that can be plugged into existing Garmin units, such as its Nuvi. Once everything is connected and a software update installed, the GPS will begin calculating routes taking traffic into consideration.
You can also turn on a “Traffic Map” that will highlight congestion on your route by changing the colours on the map: orange for roads with moderate traffic and red for routes you should probably avoid. If a traffic problem occurs en route a warning icon will appear on the screen to allow you to route around it. It will also tell you the cause of the congestion.
I used the unit to get to the office this morning and it cut my usual travel time of 35 minutes down to 20: definitely worth the money. The service is subscription-based and one year is included when you buy a Live Traffic-compatible Garmin device. Thereafter it costs R299/year.
Currently, only Gauteng is covered. But Garmin says other areas in SA will go online during this year and coverage for the service can be viewed on Garmin’s website at www.garmin.co.za.
The service itself is provided by technology group Altech, via its vehicle-tracking subsidiary Netstar. Monitoring the movement of vehicles fitted with Netstar technology, Altech is able to calculate traffic flow and identify problem areas. That information is then sent to your Garmin GPS using a radio technology called RDS. That’s how it works behind the scenes. However, I was sceptical about how effectively the technology would help me avoid the chaos of Sandton’s William Nicol in the morning.
The unit I was sent to test is a charger cable with the required receiver unit fitted to it that can be plugged into existing Garmin units, such as its Nuvi. Once everything is connected and a software update installed, the GPS will begin calculating routes taking traffic into consideration.
You can also turn on a “Traffic Map” that will highlight congestion on your route by changing the colours on the map: orange for roads with moderate traffic and red for routes you should probably avoid. If a traffic problem occurs en route a warning icon will appear on the screen to allow you to route around it. It will also tell you the cause of the congestion.
I used the unit to get to the office this morning and it cut my usual travel time of 35 minutes down to 20: definitely worth the money. The service is subscription-based and one year is included when you buy a Live Traffic-compatible Garmin device. Thereafter it costs R299/year.
Currently, only Gauteng is covered. But Garmin says other areas in SA will go online during this year and coverage for the service can be viewed on Garmin’s website at www.garmin.co.za.
