London Traffic Delays - An application that aims to give road users in London a head start in beating the relentless traffic congestion caused by roadworks, accidents, breakdowns, emergency incidents, dangerous hazards, traffic signal failures and public events.
Using live data, updated every 5 minutes, from TfLs London Traffic Information System (LTIS), the application assesses the users location (by the unique Location Service function of the iPhone) and presents the disruption events that are in progress in an interactive menu, sorted alphabetically by distance from the present location.
The user, on selection of the event location, is presented with a Report Screen detailing the exact position of the disruption (including information of intersecting roads and key junctions) and a full text description of the event (with details of road closures and/or diversions).
Located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen is an option to display an interactive map of the disrupted area allowing the user to zoom the area view in or out and to assess their present location which is indicated on the map by a flashing blue pin/dot.
In addition, in the bottom right corner of the screen, the user is given details of the severity of the disruption based on the following criteria:
Moderate (some traffic queuing unusual for time of day / minor inconvenience caused through road closures)
Serious (traffic congestion stopped for less than 5 minutes / traffic queuing longer than normal)
Severe (traffic stopped for more than 5 minutes / significant inconvenience adding at least 20 minutes to journey times).
This is followed by the cause category:
Works (planned or emergency roadworks)
Accident (road traffic accidents including HGV lost loads)
Signal Failure (traffic signals are all out or reverted to fixed timings from dynamic control)
Breakdown (vehicle breakdown obstructing carriageway)
Incident (emergency incident impacting road network)
Event (public, ceremonial, sporting, demonstrations, etc)
Hazard (dangerous structures, fire, flood, ice, etc)
Other Causes (abnormal loads, collapsed manholes, etc).
Another feature to explore is: "Send SMS" - this enables the user to send information about the currently viewed disruption to friends and colleagues via text message.
Please be aware that the data, and data feed, is provided by kind permission by TfL (Transport For London) and is subject to their copyright terms and conditions.
Please ensure that the device is connected to the internet and has Location Services" turned on.
The data is updated every 5 minutes. However, please note, that the data feed may be temporarily suspended by TfL on occasions due to unforeseen circumstances or events. This is out of the control of the application.
In addition, it is to be noted that using the application (or any mobile device) whilst in control of a moving vehicle is illegal within the UK.