Patent Document ID: 20100185382
Application ID: 12687835
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for a computing system to automatically present information to users relating to comparative traffic conditions on roads so as to facilitate travel on the roads, the method comprising: receiving information describing a network of roads in a geographic area; identifying multiple segments of the roads in the network for which traffic conditions are distinctly tracked, the tracked traffic conditions including traffic speeds of vehicles traveling on the road segments; receiving requests from one or more users that are each for information about traffic conditions at a selected time for one or more of the road segments; and in response to each of the requests, displaying information to the user from whom the request was received to indicate the traffic conditions at the selected time for the one or more road segments for the request, the displaying of the information being performed by one or more configured computing systems and including, for each of the one or more road segments for the request, determining comparative traffic conditions for the road segment at the selected time for the request by comparing actual average traffic speeds on the road segment at the selected time to expected average traffic speeds that are normal for the road segment at the selected time, the determined comparative traffic conditions including a determined one of multiple predefined levels of difference between the actual and expected traffic conditions at the selected time and including a numeric difference in traffic speed at the selected time between the actual and expected average traffic speeds; providing a user interface to the user that includes a displayed map corresponding to at least a portion of the geographic area, the map including displayed representations of the one or more road segments for the request such that the displayed representation of each road segment includes an associated displayed indication of the numeric traffic speed difference for the road segment at the selected time and includes a visual representation of the determined difference level for the road segment at the selected time, each of the multiple predefined difference levels having a distinct visual representation; for each of the one or more road segments, providing visual indications on the map of multiple predicted traffic conditions for the road segment during a next hour following the selected time; and providing user-selectable controls as part of the user interface to allow the user to update the displayed map, the provided user-selectable controls including a time slider control to select a new time for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, and including one or more time sequence manipulation controls to control a sequence of multiple selected times for which traffic condition information will be displayed in the map, so that users may receive and control displays of information that include comparative traffic conditions indicating differences from normal traffic conditions for segments of roads in a geographic area.