Safe Driving with Roadwatch

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Press Release – For Immediate Release

12 August 2008

Safe Driving with Roadwatch

GeoSmart Maps has rebuilt the NZ Automobile Association’s Roadwatch web site and re-launched it to inform motorists about events taking place on New Zealand roads; this includes road works, accidents, road closures, delays and incidents such as slips and washouts, which are very topical given current weather conditions.

The original web site had generic maps which showed the general area where incidents had occurred, whereas the new site has dynamic maps allowing people to view the incident location on a map at region, suburb or zoom right down to street level.

A pop up window on the map provides in depth information about the incident including its anticipated resolution date and time. The site dynamically updates information every 5 minutes and indicates whether the incident has been verified. The service also includes Future Notifications such as events and other known issues.

“The service will be fully managed by the AA and a call centre which is operational 24/7 will feed public information into the system. The system will also soon have the ability for local authorities to enter information about planned road works,” says GeoSmart’s General Manager Phil Allen.

“AA Roadwatch is about informing motorists so they can make better decisions on the roads, whether it’s’ taking an alternate route or leaving half an hour later.”

AA Roadwatch may be found at http://www.aaroadwatch.co.nz

Background

GeoSmart Maps is the leading provider of mapping data in New Zealand and has been in the business for 30 years. It is the leader in the provision of Car Navigation data as well as Fleet Management with a client list including Navman, TomTom, Siemens VDO, Honda, Ford, BMW and more.

It is also the leader in cartographic and web mapping with clients including Wises, the New Zealand Automobile Association Inc, Bayleys Real Estate, St Johns Ambulance, Ministry of Education, Heart of the City, and many more. Over 300 web sites in New Zealand use GeoSmart’s SmartFIND web mapping API’s and data. GeoSmart also supports solutions in many overseas countries including the Middle East and Asia.

In 2007, GeoSmart was purchased by the New Zealand Automobile Association Inc. The AA brings many additional resources to GeoSmart as well as being a major user of geospatial data, giving away more than a million maps a year to its members.

ENDS