This is a criticism of the local traffic reports on local Triad-area radio...they stink. And NCDOT doesn't help much either.Case in point...I'm making my daily bi-county jaunt from Greensboro to Winston-Salem yesterday afternoon to go to work at the nite gig...I'm westbound on US 311 approaching I-40 west. After passing the Clemmonsville Rd. exit, I head north on US 52.
Bam!
Traffic comes to a screeching halt. It's not until AFTER I get on Hwy. 52 that there's a NCDOT message board that warns of an upcoming accident 2 miles away. Now common sense (if there is such a thing at the NCDOT) would tell you to put the same message on a message board on I-40, that way, motorists can avoid 52 and find an alternate route, right? Well, that would be too easy. That would be thinking.
So I had on 600/1200 WSJS on the radio...and their traffic report? Nothing about an accident, which at 4pm is snarling a major thoroughfare through their prime listening area, Winston-Salem. Not even anything about another accident I passed while passing through Jamestown on the way to Hwy. 311 only 20 minutes earlier.
So this begs the question...who has the best triad traffic reports on the radio? Chime in and let me know what you all think?
A disclaimer...I worked part-time for a few months back in late 2004 in the former Triad Traffic Center over at Curtis Media-owned FM Talk 101.1 (WZTK). Then, we relied on a consistent and accurate volunteer team of motorists who phoned in traffic conditions on area roadways...and it worked well. And as you know, Curtis now owns WSJS.
Simply put, don't report conditions are okay when they're not.
Off the soapbox...
E.C. :)
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7 comments:
Don't you know that those are NOT traffic signs; but actually Greensboro Coliseum signs disguised as Traffic Signs.
That's the only time I see them used.
I miss listening to WTOP's traffic reports when I lived near Washington, D.C.
During rush hour, the station seemed to have a lot of items covered.
I would assume WBT in Charlotte and most other news and talk stations would have good traffic reports, too.
I saw your disclaimer about WZTK but that was the first station I thought of. They are the ONLY area station of ANY use if you travel between the Triad and The Triangle.
Local traffic on television is a JOKE. Courtesy of Channel 12 and that AWFUL Jenny girl... traffic reports are now seen as entertainment. They may be winning the ratings battle but they have lost in terms of credibility.
Ben, WTOP was one of my presets when I lived in the DC area. And WBBM when I grew up in Chicago. There's (I think) a market for a real round-the-clock newsradio station in this area...oh well, it's nice to dream.
And local traffic on TV, forget it. I don't even watch 12 anymore, not after how they treated Dave Goren. Channel 2 (WFMY) STILL has not updated its on-air 840-Urban Loop map to include the new western portion.
Segmented new to me is so yesterday.
Traffic? What traffic?
Seriously, the Piedmont Triad does not have a traffic problem. Washington DC, yes. New York, yes. I can vouch for London traffic - that's bad.
Traffic news on TV to me is USELESS since not many people have a TV in the car... and we don't have a Channel 6 which could be picked up on FM (well analog channel 6 is going away...). Even if you argue about knowing about the jams before you travel - it's highly likely that by the time you get out and get there, the jam would have gone by the time you get there.
And local radio - don't get me started! Frankly I'd rather have Jeremy Clarkson do the travel reports. WFDD does a good effort - probably just as good as WSJS though.
well in my case I can't give you a real opinion, I monitored the traffic move with some cams, of course you can connect to this system and observe the traffic.
Super blog and nice to read.
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