I’ve posted a number of times here on the GPS Tracking ROI blog regarding the use of anonymous aggregated tracking data to save time and fuel in traffic prediction and reporting systems.  see GPS Benefits For Non-GPS Drivers or Are You Being Tracked? And No, I’m Not Just Talking GPS for a few other ideas.

Keeping track of individual vehicles or individual fleets is the primary purpose of GPS Tracking.

But when you have hundreds or even thousands of vehicles reporting their locations and speed you have a real-world proof of how traffic is flowing and where:

Smooth Start for I-95 Traffic Network

GPS is being put to use along Interstate 95 from New Jersey to North Carolina in what USA Today calls “the most ambitious use of technology to combat traffic congestion.”The system, which could become a model for other high-traffic highways, gives drivers real-time traffic information to help them anticipate delays. Data will be collected from more than 800,000 GPS devices on delivery vans, trucks, taxicabs and other service vehicles, from sensors embedded in the roadways, from toll tag data such as EZ Pass, and from cellphones.

The information will be sent within three minutes to state transportation departments that will then alert drivers via road signs, 511 phone systems, mobile alerts, and the Internet. The system will enable officials to get more detailed information to a broader audience. As reported in the February 1 GPS World’s Navigate! newsletter, Inrix Inc. will collect the data under a $1 million contract with the 16-state I-95 Corridor Coalition.

Once again, GPS World comes through reporting on the things that count in the world of GPS Tracking and business advantages.