HERE Traffic Safety Warning feature could help reduce accidents on UK roads

• Fifth of UK accidents occur because the driver fails to judge the other person’s path or speed
• HERE Traffic Safety Warning feature alerts drivers when traffic will come to sudden stop
• More than 200 people died on UK roads in 2014 due to misjudged traffic speed

26.11.2015 London – Each year, there are more than 25,000 accidents in the UK resulting from drivers failing to judge other people’s path or speed, accounting for 22% of all accidents.*  A new solution from HERE, the Berlin-based mapping and location technology company, could help reduce this number.

Through its HERE Real Time Traffic service, HERE is offering a new feature called Traffic Safety Warning that can alert drivers if the vehicles in front of them are slowing to a stop so that they can reduce their speed and avoid an accident – before they can even see a traffic jam forming.

The feature is most effective in congestion known as a ‘wide moving jam’, often occurring on motorways. In this situation, a vehicle travelling at a normal speed can suddenly come across a tailback of cars at a standstill. Based on real-time traffic probe data, the feature can inform the driver of imminent congestion using a warning that can manifest itself as a dashboard warning light or an audible alert in the cockpit.

Johannes Glossner, Traffic Go-To-Market Manager at HERE, said: “The tail end of a traffic jam usually comes out of nowhere and is difficult to foresee. This phenomenon can take place suddenly, without the driver expecting it, which is why we think it is important to forewarn the passenger with an alert so they have time to brake safely.”

Based on Europe-wide ITS (intelligent telematics systems) the EU commission has issued directives to all member states to make certain traffic-related information (such as animals, people, obstacles and debris on the road) available in vehicles. While a tail-end warning is not yet mandatory, HERE can already provide this useful addition to a vehicle’s safety system.

The Traffic Safety Warning feature is part of HERE Real Time Traffic, the most comprehensive, global traffic service commercially available on the market today. It provides up-to-the-minute information about current traffic conditions and incidents that could cause delays, including slower than normal traffic flow, road works and accidents. It then helps drivers make the best decision about the rest of the journey by improving the accuracy of arrival times. HERE Real Time Traffic is currently globally available for more than 50 countries.

*Numbers according to the road accident and safety statistical report of the Department for Transport: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/road-accidents-and-safety-statistical-tables-index 

In 2014, 209 people were even killed in the UK as a result of drivers failing to judge other people’s path or speed, accounting for 14% of all fatal road accidents

Torque Agency Group

Matt Sanger
msanger@torqueagencygroup.com             
020 7952 1079

Rachel Burgess
rburgess@torqueagencygroup.com
020 7952 1076                               

Alex Michaelides
amichaelides@torqueagencygroup.com
020 7952 1078

About HERE

HERE, a Nokia company, is a leader in navigation, mapping and location experiences. We build high-definition (HD) maps and combine them with cloud technology to enable rich, real-time location experiences in a broad range of connected devices - from smartphones and tablets to wearables and vehicles. To learn more about us, including our work in the areas of connected and autonomous driving, visit http://360.here.com.

HERE has been operating in the UK since 1994, employing more than 60 people in Edinburgh, Exeter, London, Manchester, Newry, Warwick and Watford. HERE vehicles cover around 65,000 miles in the UK each year, gathering data and images to keep its maps fresh. It also collects indoor maps for more than 2,200 UK venues, including 1,700 railway stations.