For LivDigital Independent News

TomTom today unveiled its Traffic Manifesto for South Africa, a move the satnav company says outlines “how TomTom drivers hold the key to reducing traffic congestion for themselves and every driver around them”.

According to the company, its TomTom Traffic Manifesto states that if 10 percent of people drive with the TomTom HD Traffic system, a real-time “collective effect” will be created, making roads flow more efficiently and reducing journey times for all.

In South Africa, some eight million vehicles are on the roads daily – a figure growing by a 20 percent every year according to a study entitled “State of the Environment”, and issued in 2004.

Congestion, says TomTom, affects millions of people every day, having serious effects on drivers’ health, businesses, society and the environment. The company believes it “has an immediate and cost-effective solution to help tackle traffic congestion”.

Renowned local traffic reporter and technologist, Aki Anastasiou, with Joost Jetten, TomTom Vice President

“For many drivers, traffic congestion has become inevitable”, says Joost Jetten, Vice President, TomTom sales, sub-Saharan Africa. “It’s time to challenge conventional thinking with a working solution to reduce traffic congestion right now on a very large scale.”

TomTom, which reports it has invested “years in developing the very best traffic navigation system”, claims that its systems can reduce journey times for individual drivers by up to 15 percent .

TomTom claims that since TomTom drivers are connected online, when a faster route becomes available, they are first to know.

“As a result, journey times can reduce for all drivers by up to five percent, when 10 percent of the world’s drivers use TomTom’s HD Traffic navigation system,” the company states.

According to TomTom, the TomTom HD Traffic navigation system combines the world’s most accurate traffic information with dynamic route guidance technology.

According to TomTom , HD Traffic information is the most accurate in the world. It covers more road kilometres on both secondary and main roads. This information is refreshed every two minutes.

Drivers can also use the TomTom Route planner online to view real time traffic before planning their journey.

According to TomTom, its Manifesto outlines TomTom’s mission – to reduce traffic congestion for everyone.

According to TomTom, it presents four key action areas, designed to accelerate mass adoption of intelligent route guidance systems. TomTom will continue to work with individuals, businesses, organisations and governments to see the full scope of its plans become a reality.

According to TomTom, the four commitments are:

• we will encourage and inspire people to play a role in reducing traffic congestion

• we will increase the availability of TomTom HD Traffic

• we will lead the continuous improvement of traffic and route guidance technology

• we will bring together key traffic stakeholders to share ideas and drive actions forward.

“We know that traffic congestion is not going to disappear completely, but we can do something significant to reduce it today,” says Jetten. “We’re embarking on this mission because we love driving and hate traffic, and know that millions of drivers around the world feel this way too. We genuinely believe that TomTom has a role to play in helping to reduce traffic congestion in countries all over the world.”

The new TomTom GO 1000 “super satnav”

At the same time as unveiling its Traffic Manifesto, TomTom launched its high-end GO 1000 LIVE device, which it says is “packed with hot new features, super-fast routing and an intelligent screen”.

“The brand new GO 1000 range is the future of driving”, says Jetten.

“From the finger-friendly touch screen and slick magnetic mount to speedier route calculation and our richest maps yet, these super satnav devices will get drivers to their destination faster, safer and smarter than ever before.”

This is TomTom’s first device to feature the capacitive Fluid Touch screen. This means that, as with an iPhone or Android phone, drivers can pinch to zoom in and out of maps, or scroll through menus with the tips of their fingers; the screen responds intelligently and sensitively to even the lightest touch.

According to TomTom, this functionality – coupled with an improved user interface – makes for an interactive navigation experience.

The TomTom GO 1000 range also features TomTom’s newest mount design, the Easy Click magnetic mount, which the company says makes docking and undocking easier than ever before.

According to TomTom, drivers simply hold their GO device against the mount and it glides effortlessly into place, so they can start their journey even faster.

According to TomTom, since the model uses a “powerful, super-fast computer processor”, drivers will enjoy speedier route calculation, while IQ Routes uses real speed data collected from millions of users to calculate accurate travel and arrival times.

TomTom also states that every device comes with new, richer up-to-date maps of Southern Africa (10 Southern African maps) as well as the TomTom HD Traffic with real-time updates every two minutes.

TomTom LIVE Services are available on the new TomTom GO 1000 LIVE. The LIVE services bundle offers valuable services for drivers including:

• TomTom Speed Cameras warn users about fixed safety cameras ahead while real-time safety camera reporting and sharing means that users can keep each other informed about mobile safety cameras.

• TomTom unlocks the power of online Local Search with Google allowing users to navigate to millions of locations at the tap of a screen, whether they are looking for a sushi restaurant, a shopping mall or the closest place to buy flowers for someone special.

• As weather plays an important role in everyday travel drivers will now be able to receive local and five-day forecasts.

According to TomTom, richer Points of Interest (POI) data, such as business phone numbers and opening times means drivers will have even more local information at their fingertips.

Availability and pricing

The TomTom GO 1000 LIVE, including one year of LIVE Services for free, will be available from all retail stores nationwide, for R 3999.00. The LIVE Services subscription will cost R499.00 for the second year.