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Warning Signals

As the old adage says, forewarned is forearmed--and nowhere is that more true than on South Bay freeways! Sitting in traffic is painful with or without some radio announcer's confirmation. But anyone who commutes knows it just feels better when someone affirms the reality of the traffic jam. If I had it my way, my radio station would talk about my commute route nonstop. Not only would the intricate details of every accident be known--including live interviews with the police, paramedics and witnesses--but people stuck in their cars would be interviewed on the air about how it feels to sit in gridlock. Drivers would call in, tell their exact location and offer war stories about their commute. Since traffic junkies are not afforded such luxury, we must switch on the TV as we dress in the morning, flip between news radio stations as we drive, and bookmark the websites where we can bitch with our comrades (the I Hate Bay Area Traffic website is my personal favorite). Other sites offer brightly colored maps with veined freeways or personalized traffic reports emailed to your desk in the early afternoon. If we're going to sit in it, we might as well be prepared. (CB) Radio Every 10 minutes: KGO 810 AM, broadcast from Eureka to San Luis Obispo, every 10 minutes only during commute hours. KLIV 1590, broadcast from Palo Alto to Scotts Valley, every 10 minutes all day. KCBS 740 AM, broadcast from San Francisco to San Diego, every 10 minutes all day. Less than every 10 minutes: KQED 88.5 FM, broadcast from Petaluma to Santa Cruz, traffic reports four times an hour during rush hour. Television KTVU Channel 2, traffic news 6-9am. KNTV Channel 11, traffic news 5:30-9am. KRON Channel 4, traffic news 5-9am and 4-7pm. KGO-TV Channel 7, traffic news 5:30-9am. Internet trafficstation.com www.sjbay.yahoo.com/external/kpix/traffic/ www.sfgate.com/traffic/ web2.kpix.com/traffic/ALL.html www.hotcoco.com/traffic/ www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/ www.softsci.com/traffic.htm www.etaktraffic.com [ Almanac Index | Metro | MetroActive Central | Archives ]