I conducted an experiment last week. I drove around blind. Not literally blind, but I drove around for a week without turning my radio on once. As far as traffic was concerned I was visionless. No traffic reports of any kind. I refused to use my smart phone to get traffic info. I refused to call the WSB Traffic Center for updates. I refused to call Georgia 511. I might as well have been holding a tin cup selling pencils.
I wanted to see how having no traffic information would impact my commutes. As you might expect from someone who loses their sight, I stubbed my toe quite a bit.
Instead of being warned by Captain Herb Emory of big tie ups on I-285, I drove right into them. I got caught up in construction delays. I got stuck in jams caused by malfunctioning traffic lights. I got frustrated.
Without traffic knowledge I had to change the way I drove. I left for work 15 minutes earlier than normal just in case I ran into something big on my way to the office. After the second day of getting caught up in unexpected interstate jams, I felt like an abused dog. I refused to get on the freeways, stuck my tail between my legs and only drove on side streets. As a result it took me a lot longer to get to my destinations.
By the end of the week I was ready to cry “Uncle.” I took for granted the pool of resources that I, and you have at our disposal.
If you aren’t using these resources you are driving blind, and your life is about to change. Before you leave the house in the morning you can get plenty of traffic updates on TV and radio. I might be biased but Channel 2 provides “Triple Team Traffic” every 10 minutes between 4:30am and 7:00am.
You can hop on the web and check out very useful traffic websites like georgianavigator.com, sigalert.com, beatthetraffic.com and wsbradio.com
Once in your car, just about every local radio station provides traffic reports during morning and afternoon rush hours (with varying degrees of accuracy). You can also call Georgia 511 for traffic information.
Driving around Atlanta is a struggle. Delays can and will hit morning, noon and night. Thankfully in 2011 we are better equipped to deal with the struggle. From television to the internet and most especially radio, we have the necessary tools to combat the gridlock.
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