Technology and travelling are not just the universally accepted ways for people to connect with each other, but they are also becoming integrated in a number of ways. For example, most of us can’t get anywhere without using a GPS and we even have smart cars that work without a driver.

We’re hoping that the cars of the future will no longer require any smartphone apps as they will be technologically much advanced themselves. But for now, these apps are definitely an essential requirement, so here are my favourite picks.

WhatGas Petrol Prices

Fuel prices keep fluctuating globally plus there are the extra charges in the form of VAT. Anyone who owns a vehicle is aware of the importance of knowing the petrol prices, especially when they’re planning a long trip.

So this app helps by letting you know where the nearest petrol pump is located and it even informs you about the price of the petrol being sold there. This obviously helps with making informed decisions while keeping your budget in check.

RingGo Parking

By the end of March 2017, a total of 33.5 million licensed motor vehicles were being used on the roads of Great Britain. When you’re living in such a congested area along with so many other drivers, you are sure to have trouble with finding a parking space. And then there’s the added frustration of having to carry change in order to pay for the parking spot.

The RingGo covers most of the UK and it helps you by allowing you to go cashless as you can pay for most car parks through the app.

Digital Garage

This is a really good, easy to use and convenient app that can store all the necessary information about your vehicle(s). By storing this information, your driving experience becomes stress free as the app keeps track of your vehicle’s maintenance and management schedules.

So if you’re someone who likes to look after his or her vehicle’s health, then this is an app that you cannot miss out on. The app will make sure that you always stay safe and make well-informed decisions regarding your vehicle. It even keeps track of your driving behaviour by coming up with tips and suggestions that can help make you a better and safer driver.

Carcorder

Imagine being pulled over for a traffic violation that you did not commit. What would be handier in a situation like this than a recording of the trip that will help prove your innocence? There are a number of other reasons for recording your trips too, such as the need to keep an eye on your unattended vehicle, recording accidents, capturing unexpected events and even for fighting insurance frauds.

Due to all these reasons, more and more people have been investing in dashcams lately. But why use them when you own a smartphone?

The Carcorder app is not just great for recording your trips but it also helps by integrating the video recording with a number of different features such as GPS navigation and speed warnings. You can even add an emergency number that will automatically be dialled in case of an accident.

AA Parking

This app is priced at £1.99 and is available on both the App Store and on Google Play. It will provide you with all the required information about finding a parking space, parking prices, opening hours and it even works with your phone’s GPS to guide you to the desired parking space.

All this makes the AA Parking app a blessing for people who are new at driving and aren’t comfortable with trawling around to look for a parking space.

The app pretty much covers all the free and paid parking spaces in the UK and all its features make it a good money- and time-saving app.

Intelligent Marmalade

This is another great app for all the young drivers out there who find it hard to deal with insurance policies and prices. The telematic scheme allows your insurers to fit a tiny black box in your vehicle. The job of this black box is to let your insurer know things like how you’ve been driving, what speed you’ve been driving at and how harshly you’ve been using your brakes.

This awesome and yet free app will let you know all the details just like a black box on an aeroplane. By using this information the right way, you could seriously save hundreds on your insurance premium.

JamCam Traffic Info and Live Cameras

You can view the traffic all across England and Scotland on your smartphone with this app. The information is regularly updated so you can always rely on JamCam when deciding on what route to take. So this is a handy app that makes sure that keeps you posted about the traffic on your everyday routes.

The app is simple to use as it comes with an alphabetical index from which you can choose the camera that you want to view. And then it can be saved for quicker access in future. You can even zoom in on the camera images for a better look at what’s going on.