Monday 24 November 2014

Where are our savings?

The AA reports that although the cost of petrol has fallen by around £2.37 a tank over the course of the last month, we motorists aren't seeing the full savings from the huge drops in the cost of a barrel of oil during the same period.

Per barrel, the cost of oil has dropped by over 11% over the last six weeks, meaning that in theory it should cost the same to fill up as it did back in 2010, when the price was the same.  Despite the introduction of the new VAT rate in 2010, the cost per litre is still 1.5p more than it should be.

Although many (including the Government) are pointing their fingers at the retailers (i.e. the forecourts), even the boss of the AA, Edmund King, is left feeling in the dark, stating that,
European motoring organisations, representing 35 million motorists, still haven’t had a satisfactory answer as to why petrol's commodity price hit $1200 a tonne with oil at $147 a barrel in 2008 but then returned to $1200 in 2011 with oil at only $125 a barrel.
If King is feeling that there should be more transparency in the industry (from producers all the way to retailers), what chance is there for us motorists to understand why we're not seeing some of our hard-earned cash make our way back into our pockets?  And if there is so much confusion as to who is to blame, surely we're more likely to dismiss it as 'fluctuations' in market forces.

One thing's for sure - we NEED more transparency throughout the system, and motorists need some answers.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Live traffic cameras

We're beginning to roll out integrated traffic cameras across the road and motorway network maps on our site, which will greatly improve the service we offer.

When visiting any of our map pages you'll see a 'View Cams' button at the top if the map.  Clicking this button will display available camera locations which you will display live cameras covering the location.

Central London, Wales, M25, M1, M62 and the M54 are all now available, and the rest due to be rolled out over the coming days.

Camera photos are supplied by official sources including Traffic Scotland, TfL, Traffic Wales and others.

We hope you find them a useful and valuable new feature.

Some cameras may be unavailable at any given time as the agencies may need control of them to protect personally identifiable information.

As usual, if you have any suggestions for improvement, please let us know.

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Automatic language translations now available






















We've just successfully added a Google Translation service into our website, so no matter what language you're most comfortable with, you can use our traffic update site without having to struggle to read the latest conditions.

To use it, just go to any of our website's pages, and click on the 'Select Language' dropdown on the top right hand side of any page.  Choose your native language and the page will automatically be translated.


Stay one step ahead of the traffic with our email alerts

Be the first to become aware of incidents on your route.
Do you make regular journeys and get fed up with traffic jams on your route?

Stay one step ahead of congestion, accidents and roadworks with our email alerts, which will send you notification of any incidents that happen on roads you travel.

Sign up at www.traffic-update.co.uk/alerts/ with our free, popular service.

Just specify what roads you wish us to monitor and the times of day you want to receive alerts and let us do the rest.

Whenever an incident happens on your route our system will automatically inform you by email, meaning you can make alternative plans to avoid the traffic jams.

Our traffic alert service has been in testing for the last six weeks, and it's proving popular.  With more than 600 people using us, it's already demonstrated that it's a useful service.

Spread the word!

Monday 10 November 2014

Get your own traffic map

Add our traffic widget to your website - free!






















If you've got a website and want to display the latest traffic and travel conditions on it, then you can now add our 'widget' to your site free of charge.

Just a few lines of code embedded on your site will magically show traffic for any area, postcode or town in Britain.

As a nation, we make 61 billion journeys a year, costing us between £7 - 8 billion every year.  Motorway closures alone cost £1bn each year - a huge impact on our economy.

By using our traffic 'widget' on your website, your visitors can take alternative routes or select a different mode of transport, meaning there is less of a financial impact resulting from delays on their journey.

Get it free at www.traffic-update.co.uk/embed/

Single carriageways 'Seven Times The Risk of Motorways'

The A285 is the most dangerous road in Britain, according to the Road Safety Foundation.






















A new report listing the most dangerous British roads has revealed some interesting facts, including you are seven times more likely to have an accident on motorways than you are on rural roads.

The report, published by The Road Safety Foundation, includes statistics about how safe our roads are, breaks down the most dangerous highways in the country, and they're not where you'd think they were.

Coming top of the list is the A285 that runs from Chichester to Petworth.

You can see the full list of the most dangerous roads in Britain over at our news page, as well as downloading the full report:  http://www.traffic-update.co.uk/news/top-10-dangerous-roads-in-britain-revealed/2132/

Thursday 6 November 2014

Win an AA Emergency Car Kit

Win this AA Emergency Car Kit over at our Facebook Page




















Over at our official Facebook Page we're running a competition to win an AA Emergency Car Kit by answering a series of ten questions over ten days.

The person who answers the most questions correctly at the end of the competition period will win one of these handy kits to put in your car.  It contains all the essentials to ensure that you and your family have everything to hand should the worst happen on your journey.

Stick it in your boot, and hopefully you'll never need to use it.

Full terms and conditions and competition details on our website at http://www.traffic-update.co.uk/news/win-an-aa-emergency-car-kit/2127/

Good luck, and drive safely.

New payment arrangements for Dartford Crossing


New payment arrangements for using the Dartford Crossing will come into force at the end of November, named 'Dart Charge'.
New Dart Charge Arrangements

From the 30th of November motorists will no longer be able to pay at the barriers in an attempt to reduce congestion and ease the flow of traffic around the popular bridge.

Drivers wishing to use the crossing will need to follow the new arrangements:

New Payment Options:

  • Pre pay account: by topping up your pre-pay account you'll be able to use the crossing automatically without having to pay at the barriers.

    Existing DART-Tag users will not need to create a new account.  Transfer your DART-Tag to Dart Charge.

    New customers will need to set up a pre-pay account at http://www.gov.uk/dart-charge.
  • Online: www.gov.uk/dart-charge
  • Phone: 0300 300 0120
  • Retailer: pay at a Payzone retail outlet
  • Post (in advance only):  Dart Charge Customer Services, PO Box 842, Leeds, LS1 9QF.

Please do not attempt to use these new methods of payment until the new arrangements are in force. Payment for the crossing will need to be paid for by midnight the day after using the Dartford Crossing.

Dart Charge Prices

Night prices for the Dart Charge will remain free between 10pm
& 6am.  Motorcycles are free 24 hours a day.

The final cash payment will be taken at Dartford Crossing barriers at 10pm on Saturday 29th November, with the first Dart Charge beginning at 6am on 30th November.

The crossing will remain free of charge for vehicles between 10pm and 6am.

Full information about the new arrangements can be found on the Dart Charge website.

For traffic conditions, see our Dartford Crossing Traffic page on our website.

Monday 3 November 2014

Traffic Update now displays flooding alerts

We're delighted to announce the successful integration of Flood Alert information, supplied to us by the Environment Agency.

As you're browsing around the website you may notice our new icons designating a Flood Alert.  Clicking on the flood icon will display information about each flood, showing you where it has occurred, the potential impact on traffic (where available) and other relevant information from the Environment Agency.

Winter is approaching fast and river levels will be rising, especially if we see a lot of snow this winter melting due to a change in temperatures.

We've also added a new section allowing you to see all active flood alerts reported to you from the Environment Agency.

We hope that this new feature helps you to plan your journey even more effectively.

Don't forget that you can sign up for email alerts so you're among the first ones to become aware of any potential issues that will affect your journey, commute or trip.

As always, if you've got any suggestions or ideas how we can continue to improve our traffic information service, then please get in touch with us.

A49 Crash This Morning

Heads up - an accident on the A49 this morning has resulted in congestion on this busy stretch of road.

It follows an accident between Dorrington and Bayston Hill at 8am earlier today.

The road is passable but traffic is heavy as a result.