Patent ID: 8180569

Claim:
A car information system for communicating with a driving control unit located in a vehicle, and for controlling the driving control unit so that the driving control of the vehicle is performed, the car information system comprising: a map database (DB) in which map data is registered, the map data including a link constituting a road, a road shape of the link, and attribute data of the link at each of a plurality of meshes into which a map area is divided, wherein the map area is divided into meshes of a support area that is judged by field research whether attribute data is present or absent for each kind of attribute data in said map data, and meshes of a non-support area that is not judged by field research; a support area management table in which the meshes of the support area are registered; and control means for estimating a traveling area through which the vehicle travels, for using said support area management table to judge whether or not estimated meshes of areas are associated with the support area of the attribute data, and for, if it is judged that the estimated meshes of areas are associated with the support area of the attribute data, controlling the driving control unit so that the driving control of the vehicle is performed by use of the map data, whereas if it is judged that the estimated meshes of areas are not associated with the support area of the attribute data, not performing the driving control of the vehicle by use of the map data.