Patent ID: 7660663

Claim:
A traffic information transmitting apparatus for transmitting traffic information to a vehicle, the traffic information transmitting apparatus comprising: a memory that stores accumulated traffic information including past traffic information and map data; and a controller that is configured to: receive a current position of the vehicle and a destination; search for a tentative route from the current position to the destination; define a plurality of areas within the map data including the tentative route as target areas; specify entering times when the vehicle enters the target areas; estimate traffic information for each road within the target areas at the entering times based on the accumulated traffic information; determine that the each road within the target areas is a peculiar road if the estimated traffic information for the each road is substantially different from past traffic information stored in the vehicle at the entering times; determine that the target areas are peculiar areas when a ratio of a total number of peculiar roads in each target area to a total number of roads in the target area is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio; and transmit the estimated traffic information for the each road within the peculiar areas to the vehicle.