Tunnel Vision: Could Technology Save Commuters?

By Brendan O'Hallarn Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I woke up Monday morning after a great weekend to the sound of rain being whipped up against my bedroom windows. Commuting hell.

As I’ve discussed here frequently, rain = chaos.

In fact, I got fortunate with Monday morning’s commute. I passed three separate accidents on I-64 westbound as I drove in the other direction, but my trip to Old Dominion University went surprisingly well. It did get me thinking, however.

One of the things about traffic in Hampton Roads - again, as a few people I’ve interviewed for Tunnel Vision have pointed out – is that a particular route can change in seconds from “all clear” to “all of you are going to be late for work.” Sondra Woodward, the morning host of WHRV in Hampton Roads, says that she’ll frequently get grief from motorists who received information that was a few minutes out of date, and didn’t mention the snare-up at a particular bridge or intersection.

Today, on my drive, I called 511, the Virginia Department of Transportation traffic line, while I headed east. A personal frustration of calling that line is the electronic operator can’t make out what I’m saying when I ask “her” for a report from the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. I’d say it was my Canadian accent, but you all have the accents, eh?

Even then, the information you get from 511 is also not as time sensitive as it should be. I found that out the hard way during one of the many rainy mornings last fall, missing my cue to turn off to the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge.

Here’s what I wonder about. If you look at the VA511.com Web site, it shows numerous traffic cameras situated all throughout Hampton Roads. I wonder if there would be a way to sync up those cameras with a device you can access from a cell phone, or a car navigation device (not that I have one). Maybe that would give motorists a fighting chance to veer off I-64 to avoid having to eat lunch, for breakfast, while sitting stalled in the car.

Of course, seeing motorists zig and zag across our roads while talking on their cell phones, I’m not sure we need anything else to distract us from our task at hand: Being stuck in traffic.

A note about last week’s column: I fear that some WYDaily readers may take everything I write 100 percent literally.

In the column, Charlie Marcotte of American Pride Automotive suggested that I try following other vehicles, to allow them to break the wind and increase my gas mileage. I related a story about following a vehicle home from American Pride “so close, the word “LEXUS” was like the top row of an eye chart.” A few WYDaily readers wanted to challenge me to a virtual fistfight over that remark, threatening “words” if I ever do that to them.

Sorry if I offended anyone. Clearly, I’m not in the business of driving unsafely on our roads – I see enough of that behavior on a daily basis.

But if you’ve been reading Tunnel Vision for the year I’ve been writing it – this is column No. 52 – you know that black humor is how I cope with 41.2 miles on the road each way, with no radio, four times per week.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for writing. Stay safe out there on the roads.

Brendan O’Hallarn loves hearing from fellow travelers. If you have a thought about Tunnel Vision, please write him at brendan@wydaily.com. Even if you want to yell at him for something he wrote.