From a press release issued only hours ago:

“Nothing’s more frustrating than sitting in your car, stuck in traffic, watching the clock knowing that you’re going to be late and there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Bryan Mistele, president and CEO, INRIX. “INRIX TRAFFIC! is the only traffic app available for mobile phones that empowers drivers to improve their daily commutes knowing they can rely on us to provide them with the insight they need for the roads they care about most.”

If that’s not one of the better product ideas I’ve heard lately, I’m not sure what’d qualify.  We all love GPS with its ability to tell us where we need to get to, but it’s not always the greatest at telling us what roads are so spectacularly blocked with traffic or road construction that they’re basically impassable.  And radio news updates are only sporadic at best.  So what better than a mobile phone operation to tell us, up to the second, where best not to travel if we want to get anywhere in a hurry?

Life is, sadly, all about speed these days, so anything that gives me an edge in speed is welcome in my car any day.

Tags: INRIX, lane closures, mobile app, press release, road closures, traffic, traffic report

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People who are planning and scheduling to get an Audi any time soon will be in for a treat. Aside from driving out their new car, they will have a three-month trial offer for “Sirius Everything” package. SIRIUS will be included as standard equipment in key models that include the A3, A4, A5, A6, A8 and R8 models as well as the Audi Q7 and Q5 models.

SIRIUS XM Radio is America’s satellite radio company delivering to subscribers commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, and traffic and weather.

(Source) Press

Tags: A3, A4, A5, A8, audi q7, commercial free music, free music channels, models, new car, premier sports, r8, radio company, satellite radio, sirius, sports news, subscribers, traffic, weather source

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For sure a lot of us have experience being pulled over by a traffic enforcer. Depending on what you did or even if you feel that you did not do anything, it is automatic for us to pull over. However, once we are there what do we do?

Mind you, traffic enforcers are no angels and if you give them attitude, they will cite you or worse, give attitude to you as well. Depending on the gravity of your offense, you just have to be rational about it and wait for them to tell you what you did wrong.

As a reminder, here are some tips you may want to refer to the next time you get pulled over:

1. Pull over immediately.
2. Don’t make any sudden movements.
3. Stay in the car with the seatbelt buckled.
4. Be polite and respectful.
5. Keep license, registration and insurance up to date.

You may say that these things are familiar and nothing new. But then again these are only reminders not to aggravate the situation just in case you really did something to catch their attention in pulling you over!

(Source) Press

Tags: angels, attitude, cops, enforcers, gravity, Insurance, license registration, reminder, reminders, seatbelt, sudden movements, traffic

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Overtaking, driving too close or honking like crazy are only some of the reasons why a driver would suddenly lose his cool. For daily drivers, it seems that the need to hold their temper has become a critical part in car driving safety often leading to accidents or something even uglier like physical altercations.

A person does not realize the effects of such road rage habits. For one, there is nothing to gain by being first or showing off your driving skills. There is no prize to be won nor should there be anything to compete on. Hence, the lack of driving education and courtesy is apparent, especially for drivers who have not yet met accidents. Normally, it is only then would they heed their mistakes and then drive defensively which should always be the case.

Here are some things you may want to consider to avoid aggressive driving as enumerated by AAA:

Don’t offend

• Signal when changing lanes and merging. Avoid cutting off other drivers.
• Do not drive slowly in the left lane. If faster traffic wants to pass, move to the right lane.
• Allow a two to four second space between your car and the vehicle ahead of you to prevent tailgating.
• Keep your hands on the wheel. Obscene gestures often incite other drivers.

Don’t engage

• Do not take other driver’s actions personally. There may be a reason why another driver is speeding or driving erratically.
• Give aggressive drivers lots of space.
• Avoid eye contact with aggressive drivers.
• Get help. If possible, drive to a safe public place where you can park and call police. Going to your home leads a potentially violent person to where you live.
• Do not get out of your car.

Adjust your behavior

• Forget winning; driving is not a contest.
• Give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going. Eliminate your need to rush.
• Practice relaxation. Soothing music and deep breathing help you arrive at your destination in a calmer frame of mind.
• If you find yourself driving angrily on a regular basis, ask for help. An anger management course may dramatically change your attitude.

(Source) Press

Tags: Accidents, aggressive driving, changing lanes, deep breathing, driving education, driving safety, eye contact, frame of mind, hands on the wheel, obscene gestures, physical altercations, practice relaxation, road rage, soothing music, temper, traffic, violent person

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The shift in attention towards electric cars is still in the air and while some are choosing from an array of electric vehicles, others are checking out other ventures such as this Smartlet Charging Stations from Coulomb Technologies as a form of business.

Coulomb seems to be closer to actually commercializing its flagship device — a curbside plug-in charging machine that works when users scan a special “ChargePoint Smart Card.”

Called “Smartlet Charging Stations,” the devices cost about $3,000 — not including installation fees — and are usually mounted on street light poles. Earlier this month, it launched several demonstration systems in downtown San Jose, Calif. They haven’t seen much traffic so far — probably because there are less than 300 vehicles that could use them in the U.S.

(Source) ChargePoint

Tags: coulomb, electric cars, electric vehicles, flagship, smart card, traffic

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3rd Dimension, Inc have created an iPhone application which will get you live video streaming of traffic in selected areas. That means you will be able to get a preview of what is expected in terms of traffic on certain routes.

Unfortunately the application is limited for now to a few areas: Detroit, Harford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, LA, New York and Washington D.C., but more cities are to be added in the future.

The application comes as a free iTunes download. But if you’ll have time to browse through various locations while driving it probably means you aren’t doing much driving at all. Stuck in traffic is what they call it. Otherwise I don’t think you’ll be able to actually check video feeds while speeding through the city.

Tags: applications, Navigation, traffic

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