Short Traffic reports

[Shredder]

Is anyone else annoyed when the 'traffic ' reports mention three line items and then have a tag that's longer than the actual report?
I can understand nothing going on at 6AM, but around 9AM, you'd think more activity would be going on that would warrant more than a ten second update. it's like, why even have it on at all?

 

[rjt45]

You have just discovered the huge secret about traffic reports...they are not for YOU! They are to make people who don't need them THINK that the station is providing a great service while giving them a vehicle to insert a spot. In short, they had to have something that was "brought to you by" so they have "traffic".

 

[Gregg.]

Well, it depends on what station you're listening to. Obviously an FM music station is only going to give you a few highlights, such as if the George Washington Bridge is closed, or there's an overturned truck on the Long Island Expressway. On Lite-FM, its the DJ who does the traffic report, and only just a line or two.

The stations that do traffic every ten minutes, WINS and WCBS, do try to do in depth reports. WINS hits the city mostly and the close suburbs. WCBS concentrates more on the suburbs, including places outside WINS's range. But they probably have less info on every problem on the BQE or 59 Street Bridge, because they concentrate more on the suburbs.

Sometimes WCBS can only do a brief traffic report because they're timing out to an event like network news. But most of the time both stations go a full minute or more. And a minute is a lot, considering they do it every ten minutes. Of course, if it's Friday afternoon in the summer, there's only so many stories they can do, when every road is packed.

 

[Willits]

I've found that SiriusXM 133 has the most comprehensive traffic reports.

 

[FredLeonard]

Comprehensive but ....
They are canned. And they are not local. Somebody sitting in DC looks at computer screen, much like what you'd see if you went to the traffic.com website (the company the produces SiriusXM's traffic). They report gets uploaded and played on a loop for 10 or 15 minutes and then updated again. In the meantime, the guy in DC is reading off the computer screen doing reports for other markets. This traffic announcer may or may not know the city (or even have spent any time here).
But the reports don't have time constraints.

 

[ansky212]

I never bother with radio traffic reports. They are almost always outdated or completely lacking. And if I'm in NJ I couldn't care less what is happening on the LIE. I use Google Maps or NJ511.org for the best coverage.

 

[Willits]

The problem with Google Maps, etc. is that if I take my eyes off the road, I might be the subject of a future traffic report.

 

[FredLeonard]

Google maps will talk to you. No need to take your eyes off the road.

 

[luperm]

Comprehensive but ....
They are canned. And they are not local. Somebody sitting in DC looks at computer screen, much like what you'd see if you went to the traffic.com website (the company the produces SiriusXM's traffic). They report gets uploaded and played on a loop for 10 or 15 minutes and then updated again. In the meantime, the guy in DC is reading off the computer screen doing reports for other markets. This traffic announcer may or may not know the city (or even have spent any time here).
But the reports don't have time constraints.

Don't kid yourself. Other than (maybe) a live hit from the chopper, most of your so-called "local" traffic reporters are no more engaged than the ones in DC. The local reporters are reading the same headlines from the same computer screens and probably know little to nothing about the area they are reporting about.

 

[FredLeonard]

Don't kid yourself. Other than (maybe) a live hit from the chopper, most of your so-called "local" traffic reporters are no more engaged than the ones in DC. The local reporters are reading the same headlines from the same computer screens and probably know little to nothing about the area they are reporting about.

Increasingly true, as traffic providers merge and consolidate operations. Even the people who collect the information and post it for others to read off computer screens are often out of area, covering multiple markets and not familiar with the markets they work. They have data from road sensors and access to traffic cams but there are fewer and fewer aircraft or road units actually covering highways.

Traffic was one of the last reasons to listen to radio in a car, and every time somebody trades-in, they are likely to have a GPS/nav system that can provide better information than the radio. Besides, radio can't give you directions.

 

[ansky212]

I find it best to check the traffic online BEFORE getting in my car and heading out. That way I know the best route ahead of time.

 

[Gregg.]

Actually, the Sirius XM traffic reports for NYC are done by reporters in New Jersey, near Met Life Stadium, in the same studios where most NYC stations get their traffic. When Sirius and XM were separate companies, XM had its traffic studios, along with other operations, in Washington. But now both services run the same traffic reports. And the reports are timed at one and a half minutes. So that's about 10 - 20 seconds longer than traffic on WINS or WCBS. Traffic may be regionalized in smaller markets but not NYC.

The reporters use cameras and sensors along the highway to detect how fast traffic is moving along a given stretch. So for the major roads, the info is timely. Maybe along some suburban highways, where there are no cameras or sensors, they info is less timely. When it comes to new technology traffic services, the reporters you hear on Sirius and on conventional radio have all the same info. It's all tied together.