Solutions for Avoiding Traffic?

gregwbrooks asks: "Technology lets us wardrive and kludge together interesting uses for the OnStar equipment in our vehicles, but what about the one thing I really need: On-demand, real-time traffic information? These guys have a BREW-based app that downloads real-time traffic maps to your cell phone -- it just rolled out in Chicago and Milwaukee, and apparently is going national soon. What other options are out there for someone who doesn't want to fiddle around with tiny web pages on his phone while driving?"

Comments

NPR Did a Story on 511

[dcocos]

You can dial 511 on your phone in San Fransico and give your starting point end and end point and it will give you a real time traffic assesment and the time from point A to point B. With some pretty cool voice regonition software.
Story about automated traffic in SF

XM Radio

[bacontaco]

XM Radio just added over 20 channels for most major metropolitan areas that give you a quick 5 minute traffic and weather report. Find out if your city is listed here.

Of course, the cost of the hardware and the monthly subscription fee may turn many off.

The traffic picture is on the web

[netringer]

The Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee traffic web site gives the real-time traffic information from sensors embedded in the highways. It also tells you where the scheduled highway construction is. The only problem is that some highways, like the Illinois tollway system, don't participate.

With that all you need to see the traffic situation is wireless web access. Maybe you could use Wardriving. Ironically, then the worse the traffic backup is, the easier it would be to see the traffic map!

Re:The traffic picture is on the web

[lpangelrob2]

That link is outdated, find the updated website here:

http://www.gcmtravel.com/gcm/maps_chicago.jsp

My complaint about the site is that it's notoriously unreliable, is often subjected to pre-rush hour slowdowns (right when you need your rush hour data the most), and often (once-twice a week during these times) just doesn't return data. It sorta renders Blue-Cove's solution useless. :-)

Fortunately, tollways times are now posted (as measured by people that have I-Pass units), the I-80 corridor west of I-294 is going to be going live eventually, and it gives very good representations of traffic flow out there at the time.

For comprehensive (usually) information on the 8's of every hour (no, I don't work for them), tune to WBBM 780 AM for a general roundup of what's going on. If you're already on the highway, tune to radio to 1610 AM for extremely detailed information on what's going on on your specific road!. This is tremendously convenient! "Traffic congestion is reported from: Illinois 83 to the Tri-State Exit; Mannheim to 25th; Sacramento to Damen. Traffic time from Thorndale: 1 hour and 15 minutes. From Route 83: 1 hour and 10 minutes. From Mannehim: 35 minutes."

Repeats ad infinitum. I've saved some time (and avoided major accidents during off-hours) by listening to these sources. Do other cities besides Chicago have these types of solutions?

XM Radio Traffic

[mknewman]

XM Radio just started broadcasting about 25 channels of 24 hour Traffic. It's great, as my city is one of the ones covered. No affiliation, just a happy user.

In the UK...

[stu_coates]

...we've had realtime traffic updates for a while now: TrafficMaster (Another). It updates every few minutes onto a small portable device in my car. When coupled with a Sat-Nav system, it's quite easy to avoid major traffic jams.

Credit where credit's due

[Stavr0]

You don't sit in the traffic jam; you are the traffic jam. -- Werner Icking

Re:listen to the radio for traffic reports

[cpex]

San diego has a web site like this

Also usefull is a website from the chp with traffic incident information (this is what the radio and TV traffic report people are likely reading)

Would be more usefull if I had an easy way to access this information while in the car. But a quick check before heading out on the freeways is always a good idea escpecially as it gets closer to 5pm.

sigalert.com

[sideshow]

LA has a whole bunch of traffic sensors and these guys use them to build a realtime map of freeway speeds. They cover a few other cities and they also carry all the Caltrans accident reports for cities with no sensors.

The best part is that you can login with your WAP enabled phone and check your predefined routes and see which one is the fastest.

It's called TMC.

[morzel]

TMC, or Traffice Message Channel basically does what you are proposing.

It's been in production in Europe in a number of countries; I have a TMC-capable navigation system in my car, and traffic jams show up nicely (and I'm rerouted accordingly).

Re:listen to the radio for traffic reports

[Kiryat Malachi]

Its obvious you don't live in Chicago.

They get 20-30 seconds for traffic. We have 16-20 (depending on how you count them) major freeways in the Chicago metro area that most Chicago stations cover. They pick and choose - I'm lucky if I get my Edens report before I have to decide whether to take the highway or not.

I would HAPPILY pay $2.99 a month for this, if it was offered on my carrier.

Re:Best way to avoid traffic jams is to not drive

[cpeterso]

William Beaty studies traffic for a hobby. He created some "traffic experiments" and describes his results and theories in "TRAFFIC WAVES: SOMETIMES ONE DRIVER CAN VASTLY IMPROVE TRAFFIC". It's pretty interesting stuff.