Those who are tired of getting stuck in unrelenting traffic over Thanksgiving may get some relief — or at least more information on how to avoid gridlock on a long haul.
Federal officials are trying to create a system of real-time traffic information around the country that is standardized from highway to highway, state to state.
Real-time traffic information still spotty nationwide
» Traffic information was provided on only about 39 percent of the total freeway miles of the 64 metropolitan areas that had such real-time traffic systems in 2007.
» Even then, traffic sensors have been found to work correctly just half the time in parts of California.
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Department of Transportation is slated to issue final rules on the plan in February, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report. Congress had ordered the agency in 2005 to create the real-time information system to provide all states with the ability to monitor traffic and travel conditions, then share that information with each other and drivers. The preliminary proposal calls for it to be available on all interstates within two years and for other major routes within four years. The idea is that more real-time information about traffic conditions could help drivers find alternative routes, thus spreading out the burden and creating more flow.
“You can’t get it everywhere, so this will be a godsend,” said John Townsend, a spokesman with the AAA Mid-Atlantic auto club.
But the GAO report also highlighted some concerns about the plan, with officials on state and local levels saying the new rules may be difficult and pricey to implement, especially if the economy continues to stumble.
One estimate said it would cost $1.2 billion to start such a system and operate it through 2018. But officials have said that is significantly less than the $30.2 billion cost of having people stuck in traffic.
In the Washington area, where drivers reportedly face the second-worst traffic delays in the country, some real-time traffic information already exists.
Virginia transportation officials have positioned five flat-screen monitors in Tysons Corner Center so shoppers can get real-time traffic information in the area facing massive construction tie-ups from both the Beltway high-occupancy toll lanes and Dulles Metrorail expansion. Virginia also is among an estimated 32 states and seven regions that have 511 phone services that drivers can call to learn about road conditions.
Virginia transportation officials have positioned five flat-screen monitors in Tysons Corner Center so shoppers can get real-time traffic information in the area facing massive construction tie-ups from both the Beltway high-occupancy toll lanes and Dulles Metrorail expansion. Virginia also is among an estimated 32 states and seven regions that have 511 phone services that drivers can call to learn about road conditions.
But the system is far from complete. The District and Maryland are among those that haven’t begun 511 systems, the GAO report said. And the country has a patchwork of real-time traffic information of varying quality and thoroughness from local governments and private companies.
The new program would create standardized information, covering a broader area. Once the real-time information is gathered, drivers could access it online or from televisions before leaving home, then from hand-held devices like BlackBerries, radio stations, GPS units or even highway billboards while en route.
But Townsend said he was concerned that knowing how bad the traffic jams were may not solve drivers’ frustrations.
“It’s not enough to have real-time traffic information,” he said. “You have to know alternative routes.”
