Sep 17, 2014 -- South Australian motorists are turning to a cutting-edge mapping website that’s helping them avoid traffic congestion and plan quicker, more efficient road trips.

The interactive Traffic SA mobile site – which highlights traffic accidents, road closures and major events across metro and country areas – is attracting up to 1,500 unique daily visitors.

Developed by the SA Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) using software from geospatial giant Esri Australia – the mobile site uses smart mapping technology to analyse data from incident reports and bluetooth sensors throughout the road network.

DPTI Spatial Information Analyst Nick Weinmann said the traffic feeds are updated every 30 seconds, allowing motorists to adjust their trips at the last second.

“Motorists can use their mobile devices to check the website right before they leave home to see how roadworks, accidents or even music festivals could affect their journey,” Mr Weinmann said.

“Incidents are highlighted via clickable icons and pop-up windows with information such as the length of expected delay and approximate travel time.

“Roads experiencing congestion are highlighted in real time from measurements of actual traffic flow.

“Congested roads are symbolised with yellow, orange and red colour codes that illustrate the extent of congestion as incidents are reported, attended to and cleared.”

Mr Weinmann said a key advantage of the Traffic SA mobile site over other mapping applications is that it utilises officially sourced data, rather than relying on crowd-sourced information.

The site can be viewed on PCs, smartphones and tablets and can also link to GPS features on mobile devices to display a user’s location.

Mr Weinmann will discuss the site’s success at Asia-Pacific’s largest geospatial event, Ozri 2014, in Adelaide this October.

Hosted by Esri Australia, Ozri 2014 will bring together more than 500 geospatial industry professionals to share technology applications, innovations and advancements.

Esri Australia Business Development Manager David Trengove said future developments could see the mobile site linked directly to a vehicle’s navigational system.

“This would allow a motorist’s smart device to search ahead to see if there are road works or traffic snarls and then suggest an alternative, less congested route,” Mr Trengove said.

“GPS is an amazing technology and with the addition of smart mapping will completely change the way we travel.”

The Traffic SA mobile site can be viewed at: http://www.traffic.sa.gov.au

Ozri 2014 will be held at the Adelaide Oval, from 1 to 3 October 2014.

Registration is now open at esriaustralia.com.au/ozri