Renault switches on TomTom Live
8 Jul 2011
By next year all TomTom equipped Renault vehicles in South Africa will be equipped with the live version of the satellite navigation system which offers a number of benefits to motorists including a real-time traffic feed. Roll-out of the new system has already commenced.
It is to become a standard feature of all Renault models equipped with integrated Carminat TomTom navigation as standard, starting with the latest Renault Mégane GT Line models introduced here a few months ago.
According to Renault it is the only vehicle manufacturer offering this integrated satellite navigation with live feedback about traffic conditions.
Real time traffic feed
The main benefit of TomTom Live is a real-time traffic feed, linked to automatic re-routing around areas of congestion to minimise delays. This is borne out by a local traffic survey conducted by TomTom in March this year. The survey highlighted several interesting points, including the fact that an astonishing 78% of the approximately 3.8-million drivers in Gauteng are stuck in severe traffic jams daily, leading to fatigue, loss of productivity, and a lack of motivation.
Nationally, some 25% of all drivers spend 45 minutes or more in traffic daily, while 30% of Gauteng drivers have to endure the same fate.
In addition to Advanced Lane Guidance (which provides advanced views of junctions and lanes) TomTom Live includes HDTraffic, a real-time traffic information system said to be the best of its kind.
Safety alerts - AND the weather
TomTom Live also includes road safety alerts and local Search with Google, which uses an intuitive, high-performance search engine to localise almost 20 million points of interest. A five-day weather forecast service is also included.
Renault buyers will be have a free three-month trial subscription after which they can opt for either a one-year or a three-year paid subscription to the live traffic service.
For more detailed information about Carminat TomTom Live visit the dedicated Renault TomTom website at www.renault.co.za/services/tomtom.html.
Traffic Performance - Carminat TomTom
About Henrie Geyser
Henrie Geyser joined the online publishing industry through iafrica.com, where he worked for five years as news editor and editor. He now freelances for a variety of print and online publications, on the subjects of cars, food, and travel, among others; and is a member of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists. moc.acirfai@geirneh
