It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and if you’re reading this you’re probably itching to get out of work and get on with the weekend. If those plans include travel, however, you could be in for a rough time. Driving on the day before a holiday, especially in a metropolitan area, is never a fun endeavor. Traffic abounds, which causes nothing but stress. If you want to cut out some of that stress, you can check out Beat the Traffic, a service which tracks traffic flow and accidents. If something has gone wrong, you can take a detour and save yourself — and your family — some hassle.
Beat the Traffic provides information regarding traffic speed, which will let you know if there’s something holding things up. If there is, it also has maps — or you can use your built-in BlackBerry Maps application — to circumvent the incident. Even if the detour is out of the way, it’s better to be moving in a roundabout way than stuck with the stop and go. Am I right?
There are two version of the software, and both are available at BlackBerry App World. The free version reports incidents via a coloring system (red, yellow, green), letting you know the lay of the land. It’s good for basic information, and works especially well if you have a good navigation program otherwise. That way, when you see red up ahead, you can go to the GPS app and circumvent it.
The premium version, which costs $9.99, adds details about incidents. You’ll know if it’s an accident or normal delay, which will help you plan your route. Again, this works best with a GPS app that can help reroute you.
Beat the Traffic is available for the BlackBery 8310, 8320, 8330, 8830, 9800, 9000, and 9630, and it works in the following cities: New York City, Houston, Atlanta, Toronto, Chicago, Phoenix, Seattle, San Bernardino, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Providence, Nashville, Memphis, Louisville, Hartford, Buffalo, Salt Lake City, Raleigh-Durham, Tucson, Fresno, New Haven, Omaha, Bakersfield, Boise, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Redding, Macon, Beaverton, Chico.
Hat tip, BlackBerry Rocks.
