Skip Traffic Jams with Microsoft 'Clearflow'

Microsoft recently added a new traffic-predicting technology called “Clearflow” to its Live.com site. Clearflow uses algorithms to determine how traffic patterns will change and which routes will be best for drivers.

For instance, if there is a highway accident that has vehicles backed up for several miles, one would assume he or she should exit the highway and find a local route, right? Maybe. In some cases so many drivers choose to skip the traffic jam that surface streets become congested and take even longer than if the driver had simply waited out the delay. Clearflow will supposedly account for these variables.

Microsoft plans to integrate its technology with online map services from Google, Yahoo, and Mapquest. Because traffic changes so quickly, however, by the time you check a route on your computer, get in the car, and actually take off, the traffic pattern may already have changed. As Autopia suggests, Microsoft needs to have the technology available from its mobile service and find a way to utilize GPS technology so that not only are drivers made aware of traffic jams in real-time, they’re given alternate routes as well.

Microsoft “Clearflow” Helps You Avoid Traffic Jams (Autopia)