NAVTEQ has just launched the NAVTEQ Traffic Patterns database of typical traffic speeds on over 170,000 miles of primary and secondary roads across major U.S. cities, including interconnecting highways. According to the company, application developers, fleet operators, automotive OEMs and device manufacturers will find this information helpful for navigation routing.

“The ability to see patterns in traffic creates opportunities for application developers to offer enhanced routing features for end users of navigation products without adding wireless communications capabilities,” said Howard Hayes, vp of dynamic content. “For example, if you know over the past several years a particular segment of road is typically slow between 9 and 10 am, you can begin to predict what might happen tomorrow. By knowing the pattern, you can suggest alternate driving routes much more confidently.”

Hayes said Navteq Traffic Patterns gives product developers and service providers a reliable, easy-to-use data set for a variety of smart-routing applications. Those applications will put at drivers' fingertips the information they need to decide when and how to avoid typically congested areas.

Chicago, IL-based Navteq is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions.

For more information, go to www.navteq.com