Posted by Traffic Reporter on September 16th, 2009 in General

When I first got my Garmin Nuvi it was because I was driving out of state weekly and I needed it.  Then when I got settled and did not need it so much for finding my route anymore, I still found myself using it.  Now I commute a pretty boring 25 mile stretch of city streets every day, but make sure to keep my GPS with me all the time.  Here are some reasons why.

1. It has a built-in speedometer.  Typically your car’s speedometer is off by a mile per hour or 2 or 3 due to factory tolerances or tire sizes.  My family sedan reads 2 or 3 mph slower than actual, and I have had 4×4’s that were reading 5 miles per hour below actual.  Driving according to the former can keep you too slow on the highway, and going according to the latter can get you speeding tickets or into dangerous situations.  With your GPS on board you can take a satellite-accurate speed snapshot of your vehicle any time.
2. Can locate places of interest.  Want to find a Starbucks, Walmart, Post Office, Gas Station?  No matter what neighborhood you are in, your GPS will do it for you.
3. Quickly navigate alternative routes as you try to avoid traffic.  Next time you decide to sit and wait and wait because you are afraid you’ll end up in a dead-end street like last time, instead glance at your GPS and avoid the dead-enders as you drive to get back on course or choose a new one altogether.
4. Be ready to get to any or all of your favorite places in the shortest distance.  When running errands, it is great to be able to quickly specify which of your saved favorite places to add to your journey.  And with multiple places on your itinerary, your GPS can automatically calculate the distance from where you are and allow you to decide which order to visit them.
5. It has fun stuff that can be useful.  I like the large calculator because I am a man and I calculate my fuel mileage at every fill up.  There is a currency converter for when you cross the border into Canada or Mexico.  It takes an SD card and can play MP3s or show your photos.  One GPS I owned briefly had a bluetooth connection with my mobile phone.  So I could use the GPS to control my phone and provide the speaker and microphone (I thought it was pretty cool, but returned the unit because it lacked other features I valued more).
6. Can guide a friend or spouse running an errand for you.  I love it now that I can give my wife the GPS with a destination programmed into it and not get flack about her not knowing where I want her to go and why don’t I just do it myself.

You can get a good new low-end GPS for around a hundred bucks new these days; maybe cheaper used.  And, you can spend more and get more.  Happy navigating!

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Posted by Traffic Reporter on September 16th, 2009 in Los Angeles

In 1998 I commuted daily from Sepulveda and the 110 (there is a place there called Harbor City – seriously!).  To get to the Herbalife building on La Cienega by LAX was only a 40 minute commute.  Same for going home.  During rush hour.  No kidding.  I said to myself, this is Los Angeles, one of the worst-traffic places in the world, but I have a creme puff commute.  Well, those aren’t the exact words.  But, I was pretty grateful for what I had.  Then my job came crashing to an end and I left California.

The End

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Posted by Traffic Reporter on September 16th, 2009 in General

Having just upgraded to TrafficReport.com 2.0, there are inevitably “opportunities” to resolve. So, in honor of the government’s recently discontinued snitch-on-a-neighbor program, we invite you to report on any maladies, problems, or feelings you experience on the site (pretty pleeeeeez!).

It is easy to do. Simply click the Feedback button at the top right corner of the traffic map, then report away!

Then pick your smiley face, and select the button you want. Tell us which browser you are using as well as whatever else you want to say.

Thanks a ton!

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Posted by Traffic Reporter on September 16th, 2009 in Los Angeles

The truck load of shirts spilled on the 110 this afternoon has been cleaned up.  Volunteers were seen leaving the scene in bright colors.

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Posted by Traffic Reporter on September 14th, 2009 in Dallas

Rain, as much as we need it right now, can also cause big problems in traffic. Remember that wet roads can be harder to stop or turn on – especially when the rain first starts. Leave a little earlier to allow some extra time in your commute.

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Posted by Traffic Reporter on September 14th, 2009 in General

Last weekend Traffic Report was put into maintenance mode so some changes could be implemented, the main changes where made to the overall design of the website and also some changes under the hood.

Please excuse us if you experience some problems, we are working hard to get the website functioning again without any hick-ups.

Stay tuned for further announcements!

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