RQSRoad Quality Score: A 0-10 composite score per 500m road segment. Six factors are weighted per vehicle profile: curviness (25%), speed limit suitability (20%), surface quality (20%), traffic density (15%), elevation change (10%), and road class (10%). Scores 8-10 are exceptional roads Contour actively routes through. Below 4, segments are avoided.
TAPTrack Accessibility Profile: A 0-5 difficulty rating for off-road tracks. Combines tracktype, surface condition, smoothness, water crossings, and elevation gradient. Grade 1 suits AWD vehicles on firm gravel. Grade 5 requires specialist recovery equipment and significant 4WD experience.
RRIRecovery Risk Index: A 0-10 measure of how difficult it would be to get help if your vehicle broke down on a track. Combines distance to the nearest sealed road, mobile coverage, track topology (loop vs dead-end), and weekly traffic count. Independent of vehicle capability - a moderate-difficulty track 100km from help scores high.
Grey spot: A road segment with high geometric complexity but no recorded crash history - flagged for proactive safety inspection. The geometry is the kind that typically produces crashes, but none have occurred there yet. Contrasts with a black spot, where crashes are on record.
Geometry-speed mismatch: The gap between a road's physical curvature and its posted speed limit. A high mismatch means the road bends far more than drivers expect at that speed. Used to identify grey spots and prioritise safety inspection across the network.
GSRSGeometry-Speed Risk Score: A 1-5 tier score that quantifies geometry-speed mismatch per 500m segment. Tier 1 is well-matched - the geometry suits the speed limit. Tier 5 flags segments where curvature far exceeds what the speed limit implies, indicating elevated risk.
Road intelligence: The integrated system of RQS scoring, safety screening, vehicle profile weighting, and route optimisation that powers Contour. Scores over 40 signals per segment across quality, safety, and accessibility. Reflects how drivers actually think about roads - not just curviness, but surface, traffic, vehicle suitability, and risk.
40+ scoring signals: The full set of data signals Contour scores per 500m segment. Includes curviness, surface type, speed limit, traffic density, elevation change, road class, and crash risk flags. For off-road tracks, adds difficulty grade, recovery risk, and water crossing data. Sourced from OSM geometry, Copernicus DEM elevation, and government crash records.
Recovery risk: The practical consequence of a vehicle breakdown on a remote track, measured by the Recovery Risk Index. Separate from track difficulty - a hard track near a town has low recovery risk, while an easy track far from sealed roads and mobile coverage has high recovery risk.