Ask the Oracle! (Vauxhall Trafficmaster Oracle)

Member Name: firemanspam

Product:	Vauxhall Trafficmaster Oracle
Date:	18/01/09 (252 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good system in it's day.

Disadvantages: Outdated now.

You have probably seen second hand cars with small extra switches fitted, these have a circle on them, with the initials T & M, short for Traffic Master of course. I have actually disconnected mine, because every time I turned on the ignition, was greeted by a voice telling me how to renew my subscription, which I am not going to do.

You have also probably noticed Blue posts by the side of the road, with small cameras on the top, these are TM Cameras, not speed cameras. There are over six thousand of these all over the country.

Their job is to monitor traffic flow, and report any area with slow moving vehicles, the idea being you can divert before meeting the tailbacks. The information was updated every thirty seconds, from the cameras covering every Motorway, and some 95% of trunk roads.

This was a very good idea in theory, and it did actually work up to a point. The problem was in the timing, Sat-nav became available to all, and the cost of the Trafficmaster subscription is some £30 per year, every year that is, so the "Old" system soon became dated.

The website is still operational, as is the rest of the system, see here if you are interested:-
http://www.trafficmaster.co.uk
Trafficmaster is still in use, by many companies and individuals, and won the "Green Fleet Award" in October 2008.
Other contact details are as follows:-
Customer enquiries
Please email info@trafficmaster.co.uk

Trafficmaster Plc
Martell House
University Way
Cranfield
BEDS
MK43 0TR
Switchboard Tel:- 01234 759000
Fax:- 01234 759145

There are other advantages of using Trafficmaster, optional upgrades include speed cameras, stolen vehicle tracking, and also tracking your fleet for efficiency.

I must say that at the time of the launch, this system was cutting edge, but now it is obsolete. The system was used by Vauxhall of course, but also by a large number of other car manufacturers.

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Summary: Was cutting edge at the time.