Just in time for the last long weekend of the summer, CP24 has launched a new online traffic report. Users can now view traffic congestion on all of Toronto's main arteries to find the quickest route in, out, or even through the city using a convenient chart that highlights deviations from normal transit times. Although other media outlets provide similar information, to me this seems to be the most accurate and is at your fingertips through the use of a mobile phone.

I can't say how many times I've gone to my phone (yes, before I begin driving) for a traffic report. But unfortunately the data is almost always incorrect as road conditions can change within minutes. My early experience with CP24's system, however, suggests that it doesn't suffer from this problem.

Users are able to view a list of different sections on various highways and see what an average or ideal travel time would be versus what the actual time will be when you hit the highway. The difference in time is then equated to a percentage and that percentage is used to sort the list. After a quick peak at the top of the page, I was able to figure out immediately what areas to avoid.

In addition to the chart, a traffic map is also available. This serves to provide a one time quick glance at the general level of congestion. Red sections are 0-35 km/h, yellow roads are 36 km/h to 65 km/h, and green areas are 66 km/h and over. In addition, it also shows construction and various accidents and incidents that are slowing traffic. This is the kind of traffic map I'm accustomed to, and luckily enough... it works!

Now that I have experienced CP24's traffic accuracy first hand, I've added it as one of my mobile homepages. Knowing where to go to find that open street of road will not only get you home faster, but it will also save you money on fuel that would be wasted sitting on traffic. And not to be forgotten -- the less time idling in traffic, the better when it comes to the environment.

Lead photo by Photosapience.