Smartnav combines live, forecast, incident and historical traffic information to give you the best possible route from A to B. (See diagram 1 below) The powerful computer that calculates your route is housed outside your car, which means that the mapping information is always up to date.

The route is calculated by a powerful server computer, developed by Motorola and Trafficmaster, which is situated at Trafficmaster's Control Centre.

Route calculation incorporates real-time traffic data from over 7500 sensors. located on more than 8000 miles of the road network. It also analyses forecast and historical data, collated from 14 years of Trafficmaster's expert congestion monitoring, along with Police data collected by the RAC, so that known traffic hotspots, specific incidents and roadworks are all considered before a route is calculated.

All four types of traffic information are fed into the computer, making Smartnav the most sophisticated and intelligent routing service available. What's more, Smartnav will automatically react to any unforeseen changes in traffic conditions while you're on the move and where possible offer you an alternative route. (See diagram 2)

When you are on the road, Smartnav protects you from new traffic incidents throughout your journey. The powerful computer continuiously monitors traffic conditions on your route and, if a problem occurs, your in-car Smartnav unit will automatically alert you to it and offer an alternative route, if a quicker one is available. By simply pressing the Smartnav button, a new, more efficient route to your destination is sent to your vehicle within seconds.

The result is a navigation system that constantly works to get you to your destination as quickly, smoothly and safely as possible.