Tracking the Traffic

One of the many roles I've had at MAX Media over the years has been as a traffic reporter.  That role has evolved quickly, thanks in no small part to social media.

Being a traffic reporter is a multi-step process that includes collecting the information, highlighting the important stuff, preparing the report and delivering it on-air.  It's the collection phase that has changed the most.

Up until just recently, collecting traffic information involved making phone calls.  Phone calls to the dispatcher in every local city; phone calls to the various bridge tenders; phone calls to the tunnels and bridge-tunnels.  It was a lengthy process, taking almost an hour to complete a single call sheet.  That's because I could only make calls when I wasn't live on the air.

Today, much of that information is delivered automatically over the Internet.  When you hear me calling traffic on ESPN Radio 94.1, you can assume I swept through these websites before going on the air.

• totaltraffic.com/LocalTraffic/Norfolk -- Total Traffic, formerly Metro Traffic, is owned by Clear Channel Radio.  An office in the Washington D.C. area provides traffic info for several markets, including Hampton Roads.  This is usually where I find secondary street accidents and bridge opening information on the locally owned drawbridges.
• www.511virginia.org -- VDOT's traffic information page.  Its live traffic map includes access to the local network of traffic cameras, which are invaluable for helping drivers steer around slowdowns.
• twitter.com/511hamptonroads -- VDOT's Twitter feed.  This is about as up to the minute as you can get.
• trafficland.com/city/ORF/index.html -- A great collection of traffic cameras.  The most viewed cameras are listed at the top of the page.