May/June 2005

If your in-vehicle navigation system uses Navteq digital map data and you're driving in Europe, you might appreciate a new feature introduced by the company - "extended lane information".

The term really speaks for itself; you get details of the number of lanes at specific points on motorways, plus an indication of how they all relate to each other. Navteq reckons this can be invaluable in helping drivers avoid last-minute lane changes at exits and similar adverse experiences.

The extra information is only available on request on selected stretches of motorway and airport approach roads at the moment, and only in six continental countries (Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland), but availability is said to be set to expand. Later this year the feature will be standard where available for these countries.