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>No one wants to sit in traffic. For most, waiting in traffic is not only annoying and a waste of time, it does nothing to help improve your gas mileage or fuel economy, which many of us are very interested in lately. Radio stations, new smart phone applications and car navigation systems may be able to help us dodge some traffic bullets, but often the information is not as up to date as we need it to be.

What if there was a software program that would be able to predict traffic patterns for your personal daily commute? What if it could predict traffic patterns for your commute a half hour or forty-five minutes in advance? IBM along with the California Department of Transportation and UC Berkeley is attempting to produce such a thing. Currently being used in the San Francisco area, Smarter Traveler tells users traffic information for their personal travel route. Unlike other traffic information systems, Smarter Traveler tells you the traffic pattern predicted up to forty-five minutes into the future. It also gives you helpful information as how to avoid the traffic or congested areas in your route.

Smarter Traveler works by tracking your commute for a few weeks. Once the software gets a handle on your traffic patterns, it will send you an email or SMS text message about the traffic or other issues regarding your regular route. Smarter Traveler was designed to not only predict future patterns, but give you a heads up before you hit the road.

Although there are some issues about allowing Smarter Traveler to track commuter’s specific travels, it has the potential to save not only time, but help to reduce the environmental impact of emissions and improve your gas mileage.

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.