I was reading an article about new traffic sensors being put up in major cities across America (most notably, Washington DC and San Francisco.) These sensors operate by taking a reading of the traffic level every thirty seconds. They are solar-operated, so these devices are not a strain on our already overworked power supply. The company then takes the information beamed to them by the traffic sensors and sells it to the air traffic companies–you know, the ones that you hear on the afternoon radio, “Hello, this is Mike from Air Traffic, and I am looking now at the highway running between…” You can hear the chopper in the background, and it’s all good and well, except it doesn’t give a very accurate overview of what’s really happening–you go on the road Mike just said was clear, and 10 minutes later a crash happens up ahead. You don’t know anything about it because Mike’s already gone and nobody else is around to warn you, so you end up snarled in traffic, wondering how on earth you managed to pick the most congested route home yet again. It’s like picking a line at Wal-Mart–no matter what, you always end up picking the slowest line in the store, every time. Or am I the only one that is that cursed?
The traffic sensor company will sell this info to the air traffic companies to be played on your radio, but they will also offer up-to-the-minute information in your on-board navigation system. Sadly, this invention will not blast the road clear of all other cars, letting you make your trip home with nary a problem, but it will allow you to know what is going on so you can make an informed decision on accurate data. Considering how addicted we all are to technology, this seems like an intuitive extension of that need for instantaneous information. In other words, it just makes sense.
Don’t expect this to come to your local neighborhood anytime soon, unless you live in a large metropolis. I think this technology will stick to large cities for the foreseeable future.
Traffic: One more reason I’m happy I work at home. 😉