Newspaper Column: Traffic Congestion Early Warning

Abstract

The investment of time required to drive to D.C. in early morning or evening has always been a crap shoot. I choose one of three possible routes based on prior congestive experience at the time of departure and hope for the best. That means I allow at least an extra 15 minutes for bumperto- bumper tie-ups and slow-downs in order to arrive at the outset of a meeting or before the curtain rises. EyeCast.com, a Herndon company specializing in internet-based technologies, has put in place an early warning system for traffic congestion, with the collaboration of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Some 110 cameras have been installed by VDOT at key highway locations throughout Northern Virginia to hasten dispatch of assistance to sites of accidents or breakdowns and to permit overhead posting of adverse driving conditions. EyeCast.com has established a website (www.highwaynet.com) to display at all times the current photographic images of VDOT cameras, permitting drivers in advance to evaluate conditions for themselves. Photos from 25 cameras are now available. By summer of this year, the website will post images from all 110 VDOT cameras.