The French Mediamobile group, which provides real-time traffic information under the V-Traffic brand, has formed a partnership with Foreca, a leader in digital and location-based weather data, to provide highly-reliable information on driving conditions for drivers across Europe.
In partnership with Foreca, Mediamobile is now extending its V-Traffic RoadWeather service to European drivers and the automotive industry. Fog, heavy rain, frozen pavements, snow, heavy side winds, and other climatic conditions contribute to a large number of accidents according to many studies, with approximately 22% of all vehicle accidents being weather-related. The majority happen on wet pavements (73%) and during rainfall (46%).
The new service informs drivers in real time on weather phenomena that have an impact on driving conditions and may reduce road safety. The V-Traffic RoadWeather service warns drivers of weather risks and optimizes vehicles’ routes more intelligently, enabling motorists to react accordingly. V-Traffic has extensive experience in providing real-time road weather for the automotive market, including collaborations with Météo France in France, and in Scandinavia through the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Now, the new service is available across Europe and built on detailed and accurate meteorological information provided by Foreca.
The new service is tracking weather-related events classified by type and importance, and sends a clear and understandable warning to drivers. The road weather is by default calculated in 1.2 miles (2km) resolution and distinguishes main roads from secondary routes. Special structures such as bridges and tunnels are also taken into account.
The service is based on an advanced road weather forecast and sophisticated driving condition codes provided by Foreca. V-Traffic’s expertise is in delivering traffic and incident information into navigation systems, with well-known traffic delivery standards and formats such as TMC, TPEG and Connected, allowing the new service to be implemented in all vehicles using broadcasted or connected services.
“Some basic weather features have been available in car infotainment systems for several years already, but with limited added value. What is new, and what is actually the innovation here, is the smart way in combining the available data with relevant contextual information,” explained Petri Marjava, sales director at Foreca. “As weather has a significant impact on drivers, and also future autonomous vehicles, it needs to be connected with the journey and the immediate surroundings of the vehicle. You need both, highly-accurate weather data, as well as an intuitive and intelligent way to deliver that to the end-user at the right time.”
