Mapping firm HERE and the Dutch government are mulling a 3G and 4G-based hazard warning system for car drivers.

HERE, which is in the process of being sold by Nokia to a consortium of German car makers, said a so-called Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System (C-ITS) is being evaluated with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.

The aim of the project is to improve road safety and reduce congestion. Under assessment is a system based on standard 3G and 4G cellular networks, as well as location-based cloud technology and data analytics, all supplied by HERE.

The system connects smartphones and other devices with road infrastructure and traffic management centres, delivering low-latency data messaging to drivers.

HERE will support the ministry’s own traffic management programme during a demo to show off its technology in the first half of 2016.

A comment from Caspar de Jonge, project manager for Beter Benutten, the Dutch ministry’s programme, revealed that next year’s rollout is effectively a trial of HERE’s capability for a wider deployment.

“In particular, in 2016, we want to start deploying a road user messaging system that enables information to be gathered, processed and then distributed to the relevant road-users with quality, accuracy and at sub-second delivery rates. HERE will demonstrate to us that it can tick those boxes,” he said.

For his part, Ogi Redzic, senior vice president of Automotive, HERE, is eager for a wider rollout: “HERE’s solution can be built on existing Dutch networks, meaning that it wouldn’t cost the earth, could be quickly rolled out across the whole country and would bring benefits to citizens relatively fast.”

“The Netherlands is regarded as a C-ITS trailblazer in Europe, so we’re looking forward to showcasing what we can do in the Amsterdam demo next year,” he added.

Elsewhere, HERE will begin to pilot a C-ITS system for road hazard warning in Finland next year.

HERE’s proposed sale by Nokia to a consortium of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-manufacturer Daimler for €2.8 billion ($3.1 billion) is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.