Pet Peeve

[Zeke_Terry]

Ok - this is something that just makes me 'curse' like a sailor in my car in the afternoons, and if ANYONE reading this knows Lance Ballance at FM 100 - please pass this along.

Not that it will do any good, but gotta get it out there.

Friday afternoon, I leave work and usualy listen to FM100 just because I KNOW that the traffic report comes on at about 8-10 after the hour. Get on the south leg of 240 and traffic is just 'messed-up'. I sit through 2 songs and finally they start the little traffic music ...

But does he get to Marla and let the people know what the back up is - NOOOOOO - he has to banter back and forth for ALMOST a minute and a half about crap that folks sitting in their cars in traffic DON'T give a flip about.

Dude if you are going to banter - do so AFTER you give the report. I don't wanna know who's blogging who, while I'm sitting there wondering if I have to take a different route home or not. Just shut the "****" up and get to the friggin' traffic.

Ok -- ranting is done.

So - anyone have any other suggestions as to who I can listen to, to get REAL traffic info and some some crappy fluff?

Thanks for reading - just had to vent.

 

[eden]

I don't turn to the radio anymore for traffic updates. They talk so fast you can hardly catch where the wrecks are and it all runs together, after they've talked back and forth for 5 minutes that is. I check wmctv.com right before I leave work because they have a traffic update thing that tells you what time they entered the wreck information, where it is, and what it is. Most the time they are right on, and sometimes the wrecks are cleared by the time I get there. If I'm stuck on the road I text my husband and get him to get on wmctv.com to see what's there!

 

[gonzoid]

Simply move out into the country, old chap…where the worst traffic jam is when Farmer Joe takes the tiller down to the north 40.

 

[littlebigradio]

.....except in the spring when you have to follow an 8 row planter down a 2 lane road or in the fall when you have to do the same with a combine (which is slower than a tractor with a planter)..

 

[tomservo]

If you have a net-enabled cell phone, Google Maps offers limited traffic info on the interstates around town. I think it's based on prevailing average travel speeds, so it doesn't show wrecks or anything. And gives you nothing about side streets.

So it's about as useful as radio but cuts the jibber-jabber.

 

[MemBirdman]

There are some big problems with doing traffic in Memphis and they really come from the reporters and those they report for. Like the whole talking before the report thing. We're nothing but news reporters, so let's get to the news and then later I can come back and talk. We're in the role we're in and whether I'd prefer a bigger role doesn't matter. I know my role and I know what to do with it.

The other big beef I have is with the predominance of talking about accidents on secondary streets and not talking about the interstates at all. If Memphis is a major travel center (it is), then we're going to have a lot of people who don't know (and don't care) about the streets. So when we talk about a two-car wreck at Holmes and Tulane, we've essentially talked to maybe 12 people where we could talked to about 300 when we mention a little slowdown at I-240 and Walnut Grove. That's not to say that significant accidents and closures on streets shouldn't be reported, just that they shouldn't be the focus of a report at the expense of the interstates.

For my part, I just went through Chicago a month ago during vacation and learned some ideas that I want to implement for reports. It's going to be helped A LOT with the TDOT cameras coming online soon and I think accuracy is really going to get a lot better. But I completely get your beefs.

 

[RadeoEngineer]

As geographically large as this area is I'm surprised there's no one flying. I guess it's a little expensive for the market size.

 

[radiosaur]

Bird, if you are reporting accidents at Holmes and Tulane, I suggest as an added feature you start reporting how many shots were fired and who's down in the street in conjunction with the accident.

;D

 

[MemBirdman]

As geographically large as this area is I'm surprised there's no one flying. I guess it's a little expensive for the market size.

Plus security concerns. International Airport plus the two largest bridges across the Mississippi for 100 miles make people a bit twitchy when asking for air clearance.

 

[RadeoEngineer]

Could be done easily, but someone would have to want to fund it.

 

[tomservo]

The advertisers want the daily listeners, not the touristas passing through. I'm a frequent visiter to the city and I gotta say there's a lot more "side streets" than interstates. It's not like Nashville or Atlanta where everybody and their sister gets on the highway for most of their commute.

I tend to avoid 240 anyway since it never gets me where I need to go. :

 

[save yourself]

Idea:

Model traffic report styles as some in markets like Seattle or New York. Don't tell me it is a "slow go" or traffic is "standing still." I want to know, in minutes, how long it is going to take to get through the flyover or across the MS bridge. I would find value in traffic reports that say "40 inbound from the east will take an extra 20 minutes due to heavy flow".....When I am stuck in heavy traffic volume at a dead stop and hear a traffic report that "only one 2 car accident to report on at Poplar and Yates," I think the station should just quit pimping out useless traffic reports to gain a 10 second ad sale.

And that brings me to another point....

240 does not run north or south......I hear that all the time......but because that is so hard for all lifelong Memphians to grasp, traffic reporters could cut out some directions. In the afternoon, you could try terms like "40 outbound (instead of east) at Whitten" or "240 outbound (instead of east) at Mt. Moriah. I understand some criticism can accompany this thinking considering most interstates here are a big circle, but my analogy is simple....downtown is the center point....and that is the basis for in or outbound.

I hate to rudely admit this, but a lot of drivers who rely on radio traffic reports are too dumb to realize the difference in "east" bound 40 at Whitten vs. "west" bound 40 at Whitten. You would think the inbound or outbound ideas would help dump down for the stupids as well....but I am probably stupid for thinking that.

 

[Zeke_Terry]

And that brings me to another point....

240 does not run north or south......I hear that all the time......but because that is so hard for all lifelong Memphians to grasp, traffic reporters could cut out some directions. In the afternoon, you could try terms like "40 outbound (instead of east) at Whitten" or "240 outbound (instead of east) at Mt. Moriah. I understand some criticism can accompany this thinking considering most interstates here are a big circle, but my analogy is simple....downtown is the center point....and that is the basis for in or outbound.

In a truely TECHNICAL aspect, the east leg of I-240 does run North and South - now it may not be labled as such, but it does run that way. Here in Memphis we have a very good geographical landmark to use - the River. As long as we know which way the river is, we can generally orient ourselves. So using the terms "outbound" and "inbound" in my humble opinion just doesn't flow. Outbound I-240 could be going either East or West depending on where one is. For me, outbound would be westbound - but others may be going outbound to the east. So use the directions and not the "In and Out" terms, because they do mean different things to different people, and if we have to think to figure out which is Inbound or Outbound for us - then we just get confused and find someone else who KNOWS their directions.

 

[MemBirdman]

Idea:

Model traffic report styles as some in markets like Seattle or New York. Don't tell me it is a "slow go" or traffic is "standing still." I want to know, in minutes, how long it is going to take to get through the flyover or across the MS bridge. I would find value in traffic reports that say "40 inbound from the east will take an extra 20 minutes due to heavy flow".....When I am stuck in heavy traffic volume at a dead stop and hear a traffic report that "only one 2 car accident to report on at Poplar and Yates," I think the station should just quit pimping out useless traffic reports to gain a 10 second ad sale.

This isn't meant to be a pat on the back or anything, but I've been doing what you're saying for months, possibly a year.

240 does not run north or south......

In a truely TECHNICAL aspect, the east leg of I-240 does run North and South - now it may not be labled as such, but it does run that way.

Here's the confusion that is the interstate system in Memphis: I-240 runs north and south (geographically) in two places. It is labelled as NB and SB in only one of those places, in Midtown. The East leg is signed as EB and WB, whether you're coming from the south at Highway 385 or from the north and I-40. So both of you are right and wrong. For what it's worth, my resolution has been to name the direction based on the signage, then in those areas, I'll mention the exits you're coming up on. Something like, "Getting down to less than 40MPH on I-240 going eastbound. About an extra 2-4 minutes from Mount Moriah to Walnut Grove."

Seriously, check out WREC in the afternoons around the quarters. I'd appreciate feedback.

The advertisers want the daily listeners, not the touristas passing through. I'm a frequent visiter to the city and I gotta say there's a lot more "side streets" than interstates. It's not like Nashville or Atlanta where everybody and their sister gets on the highway for most of their commute.

It's exactly like that, where people are increasingly using the interstate for their commute. And again, regardless of who is local or passing through (I overexaggerated earlier a bit for effect), my job is to tell the most people how they may be most affected. That's going to happen on the interstates or with accidents at major intersections. At 7:50am or 4:45pm, an accident at Range Line and Egypt Central is irrelevant.

 

[KarsonWithaK]

As for me, I love the banter if it's entertaining. Heather over at Metro is a gold mine of funny one liners that help take your mind OFF of the traffic you're about to be stuck in...

 

[MemBirdman]

As for me, I love the banter if it's entertaining. Heather over at Metro is a gold mine of funny one liners that help take your mind OFF of the traffic you're about to be stuck in...

One liners are one thing, but getting into a 5-minute discussion before the report is a bad thing. Do it after (I know, Metro's not set up that way, doesn't make it any less bad), where you've already informed people.

But yes, Heather is awesome.

 

[ArtInRadio]

The methodology for gathering traffic data is changing. I do reports for 4 stations in Atlanta, 115 reports a day. Travel times are difficult to gather unless you have not only reliable sensor data but access to it. Like many other traffic reporters I have my informal network of commuters who keep me informed in addition to a great website provided by the Georgia Department of Transportation. As far as what to report on which station, I started gathering the hot zips for each one. That can help when you're trying to figure out if a surface street incident trumps an interstate problem. I also keep up with the latest studies and commuter trends in transportation and traffic management. I've joined a local task force and am now a board member of "TIME", Traffic Incident Management Enhancement. The board meets monthly and the group quarterly. It's made up of area first responders, GDoT, tow truck operators, traffic consultants along with Federal Highway. TDoT has attended some of our meetings and functions. By doing this I have the ability to reach out in critical traffic situations to get the information I need. Having lived and worked in Memphis for 13 years (mainly in the 80's) I know 240 doesn't give you many choices. But you have options. The way I look at it is how I've always looked at my gigs over the past 30+ years. When you're on the air, "own it."

 

[robgrayson]

Hey Art... "toot toot, beep beep" from your Dawn Patrol co-pilot!

 

[save yourself]

Now if only we could get a great traffic guy, like a couple of guys who appear to be posting to this board, and name him "Buck Naked." I loved hearing him on Y107 - Nashville.

 

[ArtInRadio]

I still use some of the slang/idioms that Deputy Joey Hadley used to use on our traffic back in the days of the Walrus!