How can traffic jams and speed cameras be avoided?

The AROBS team has developed an application that aims to create a wide community of drivers who want to contribute with announcements of events. The SpeedTraps solution is free and can be installed on any iPhone, Android, or Nokia smartphone fitted with an Internet connection.

The novelty of this application is that drivers will be able to share traffic information in real time. They will be able to report real-time events such as accidents, traffic jams, police patrols and locations of new fixed and mobile radar cameras. They will also be able to vote events reported by other drivers, to confirm or invalidate their alerts. All the alerts will also be distributed via the Twitter and Facebook social networks.

"With this application we are trying to create a community of drivers; they are the ones who will help develop this network" said Oprean Voicu, CEO AROBS.

To deliver audio and visual warnings on your Smartphone, the application only needs an Internet connection and must be fitted with GPS or A-GPS. The traffic is estimated at a few KB per day, depending on the use of the map in the application and the number of reported traffic events. If we consider the decreasing prices for subscriptions to mobile Internet, using the application generates minor costs.

For those who do not have an open Internet connection on their Smartphone, the application will issue only warnings for fixed radar cameras, which are already preloaded in the database. While in Romania the number of these fixed radar cameras is small, they are quite numerous abroad and the fines for speeding violations are very considerable.

Since its launch abroad in March 2010, drivers in Great Britain have shown the highest interest in the application developed by AROBS Transylvania. Over 15,000 users are currently using this application and contributing to the traffic information exchange. "The explanation for this situation is the large number of radar cameras in the UK and the hefty fines applied in this country for speeding violations," said Voicu Oprean.

At the time, SpeedTraps ranks first in Romania on the Apple Store Navigation section and in the Top 10 most downloaded applications on the Apple Store in UK, for the same section.