Skoda has launched a feature which automatically alerts drivers if they attempt to enter a motorway slip road in the wrong direction.
It’s a feature of the new Traffication app, developed in collaboration with Bosch, which will display a warning on the car’s infotainment system.
Skoda says the need for the system is demonstrated by a survey finding 26% of drivers said they had driven a road in the wrong direction at least once, and 11% had done so on multiple occasions, while 41% said they knew someone who had done so, and 65% had seen another driver doing it. Although most of these incidents were on urban or residential roads, 20% said a dual carriageway was involved, and 11% a motorway.
Other functions of the Traffication app include warning of hazards on upcoming stretches of road, such as a stationary vehicle, and displaying information on traffic conditions in conjunction with the car’s sat-nav system.
The app is available with the Columbus infotainment system in the Skoda Superb, Karoq, and Kodiaq, and the Amundsen system in the Scala and Kamiq, and is due to be made available in other Skoda models later this year.
It can be installed in the car, via Skoda’s online services shop.
Future updates planned for the app include extending wrong-way alerts to other Skoda drivers nearby, as well as messages about weather and road conditions, and the option to have the system read messages out loud, as well as a self-reporting hazard function.
