Late for work? Let your clock warn of traffic jams

Worried that bad traffic will make you late for work? Perhaps you should have got up earlier – and thanks to a new alarm clock that automatically checks how busy the roads are, you can.

The Rise alarm clock, developed by David Hunt of Brunel University, uses a phone line and the internet to check websites with information on local traffic conditions and decides whether they are bad enough to merit getting up early. The clock might be the answer for those people whose first instinct is to tune in to road reports or call traffic hotlines before they leave home.

Mr Hunt, who developed the clock as part of an undergraduate degree in industrial design, said it could "effectively modify daily routines, reduce stress and provide the luxury of peace of mind".

Although if the jams keep growing the clock may simply become an alarm that advances by a few minutes every day – and might even make things worse if everyone thinks the roads are quiet and so sets off at precisely the same time.