#162 - Traffic Technology

So I asked the wife, "What would be a good topic for the blog?" She says, "You've been traveling by car alot this summer, maybe talk about traffic technology". Ok so here goes.

My parents were amazed this summer when their town put in new traffic lights with detection cameras. We've had those in Virginia for a good 5 years. The detection cameras note when a car comes to stop at an intersection and then instruct a processor to turn the correct traffic light to green. Now they are fortunate that what didn't go up was a traffic enforcement camera. One that catches those that run lights by taking a picture of a car that goes through an intersection when the light is red. These are popular in Northern Virginia.

We've also seen some new surface technology in the small town of Covington. A new bridge over some rail tracks went in with a new composite surface that is supposed to last twice as long as either blacktop or new concrete. Its costs about 30% more, so should pay off in the long run and the costs should come down if more is used.

Another great boon to traveling by car is the GPS. The Global Positioning System box helps us get to our destination by showing turn by turn directions. Now let me be the first to say that there still needs to be some work on this technology. Take my last trip to Ohio with the spouse. She was driving on a West Virginia Interstate when a big traffic jam occured. We were near an exit and she proposed that we go off and let the GPS take us to the next exit. OK, fine. I'm up for an adventure and that's exactly what we had. 10 minutes later we were on a one lane dirt and gravel road winding our way in Deliverance country. 20 minutes later we were on a nice paved highway heading directly back to where we got off the Interstate. Total detour was about 30 minutes and we still had a 15 minute wait in the Traffic Jam. Isn't technology wonderful?

I do like the electronic signs on the interstates that let you know about traffic congesting and give you the opportunity, ahead of time to make alternate plans. That works great in Virginia where I have a fair knowledge of most of the major routes and potential back road detours. You can also go to most state DOT sites and get very current reports of construction delays and alternate routes.

Internet in your car is now here. Verizon and other sell an mini hub you can put in your car and use wireless technology to have Internet on the run. It is a steep cost now, but I'm sure the price will come down with more competition.