Apps for the Road

(CBS)  It's getaway day - the day before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year.

CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg offers some high-tech tips to make your car ride smoother . . . and save you some money.

The vast majority of holiday travelers will be going by car. According to AAA, 33 million Americans will be cruising the roads this Thanksgiving - that's a 2.1 percent increase from 2008 - making for some major headaches with all that congestion.

But help is right at your fingertips.

Beyond the usual Google Maps and MapQuest, there are an increasing number of apps that can help you to get to Grandma's faster - and less expensively.

"There's so many different ways you can go with your Smart phone or your computer to help your travel experience," said Lance Ulanoff, editor in chief at PCmag.com.

All these apps are very easy to use and require just a few minutes to install or prepare.

Take the Navteq Mobile Solution apps for iPhone and Blackberry from traffic.com, which ranks the roadways based on real-time traffic volume and construction, and tells you an estimated delay time.

Navteq Traffic.com

The average price for gas is $2.64, but if you're looking for the best bargain, Ulanoff points out a tremendous number of Web sites that will help you find the best gas prices "on the fly" - like the gasbuddy.com Web site or app that finds the cheapest price along your route.

gasbuddy.com (Web site)
gasbuddytogo.com (For your mobile device's browser)
Gas Buddy app

And if you're really in a hurry to get that turkey dinner, apps like Trapster tell you where to find speed traps and red light cameras.

Trapster App

Services like Trapster work by people uploading a report when they see a speed trap on the road. Of course, the safest thing would be to leave a little earlier - and adhere to those speed limits!

Other Car Travel Apps:

MapsBuddy
SimulTravel GPS
MobileNavigator (Navigon)
Road Trip and Road Trip LITE
TeleNav GPS Navigator