Traffic information now available online

Tourism businesses wanting to help their guests plan their car journey more easily might consider directing them to a new online service from the Highways Agency.

The Agency has launched a new service that allows live traffic information to be accessed via a mobile phone and other portable devices, as well as from its standard website, www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo.

The mobile version of the Highways Agency website provides easy access to live traffic information, presented in a simple text-based format (specially designed for smaller screens) that will deliver faster download speeds. It includes the latest incident reports, searchable by region and motorway.

Denise Plumpton, the Agency’s director of information says, ‘Planning your journey to avoid any congestion hotspots can take the stress out of the first day of the holiday so that everyone arrives at their destination happy and ready to enjoy themselves.

‘Thousands of people already take advantage of our website to check the latest traffic information before they leave; now we are making that same information much easier to access when people are away from their PC.’

Drivers stopping for a break as they head for their holiday destination can key www.highways.gov.uk/mobile into their mobile device, allowing them to check that the road is clear ahead. Those without a laptop or PC in the hotel, cottage, tent or caravan where they are staying, can now check for updates before heading for home too.

Denise Plumpton adds, ‘Our publicity and frequent messages on the site itself make it absolutely clear you should never use a mobile phone while driving, but we also encourage drivers to take frequent breaks and that is an ideal time to check the road ahead.’