Siemens VDO Automotive has become the first company in the UK to incorporate the Traffic Message Channel service (TMC) into its aftermarket satellite navigation systems.

Available for a one-off charge, with no on-going subscription costs, TMC is designed to provide up-to-the minute information on current traffic conditions. This is relayed to vehicles equipped with any VDO Dayton or Philips CARiN sat-navs, using RDS TMC, a digital data stream carried by radio broadcaster Classic FM.

Data is gathered can be used to automatically plot alternative routes round incidents and to predict arrival times.

According to Siemens, TMC can differentiate between types of delays, such as accidents, fog or roadworks.

Feed is direct into in-dash navigation or via an interface with external screen models.