OT Google Maps and Live Traffic details?

[ARW]

Anyone know where they get the info from?

It seems some of the roads in my village are now covered when I look at the maps.

And it seems not to be good info that they are giving.

[Harry Bloomfield]

ARW wrote on 03/09/2012 :

RDS ?

[ARW]

They ask the uk.d-i-y's optometrist?

[Huge]

Android phones. They report their position to Google, who anonymise and aggregate the data and use it to measure traffic flows. If the same size is small, which it will be for a road with few users, the reported speeds will not be very accurate.

[Huge]

Sigh. "Sample", not "same"

[D.M.Chapman]

Comes from all sorts of places apparantly. Some taxis in the US feed back data. Also, trunk roads are often kitted out with sensors that feedback somehow.

Also, if you have an android phone, they can feedback info as well.

've found it to be fairly accurate in towns - less so as you hit less busy roads though

Darren

[ARW]

So that is why some roads in the village are showing traffic details on some days why they are not showing on other days? No phone users on the road.

And they must know the direction of the vehicle as they can split the road speed into two directions.

I must get an Android phone. I passed a sign on the M1 yesterday that said "M18 junction 13 minutes" I passed the M18 junction 9 minutes later. It would be nice to mess the figures up.

[Mr Pounder]

A better question would be *why* is Google doing this? Hmmmm?

[Andy Burns]

Bear in mind that unless the phone user has the phone in satnav mode, the GPS is likely to be switched off, so the phone will be relying on phone masts and glimpses of WiFi from access points it passes for (relatively imprecise) location information, let alone determining speed as a function of time between these imprecise locations.

[stuart noble]

The blog sounds convincing

[The Other Mike]

The ones on motorways rely on character recognition of a number plate, they use a few of the characters and try and match them up further down the road.

60mph or therabouts seems to be the average iwith no congestion. I suspect the presence of HGV's has a big influence on the figures reported.

[R D S]

It's nowt to do with me guv.

Plus i'm a lowly dispensing optician.

[ARW]

I cannot see the difference between the two.

[R D S]

They examine eyes, we make/dispense specs. The main difference is in the paypacket.

[John Williamson]

So the speed sensing loops every kilometre or less on most motorways have nothing to do with it, then?

[Huge]

Depending on cell size, the phone knows where it is at anything up to centimeter resolution using information held by the cell itself. But that information is held by the mobile operators, who do not release it to anyone. Yet.

[ARW]

The odd thing is I always look at Google Maps or listen to the local radio before I leave for work.

I have to be at work for 7:45 but I like to get there for around 7:15. On Sunday morning a road in the village was closed for 5 weeks worth of roadworks. This morning was the first time I have seen this road show any details on Google traffic/maps.

When I got in from work tonight the village was quite a highlight with Google traffic.

Do drunks walking home from The Talbot Inn carrying an Android phone add to Googles traffic info?

[The Other Mike]

Not from what I am led to believe.

[ARW]

It is car number plate recognition that supplies the info for Trafficmaster on A roads.

Dunno about the Motorways.

[fred]

Certainly used to be, one cam per lane hung on light booms from bridges crossing the m'way.