by : Lauren Woods

For drivers who consider traffic congestion as one of the pressing problems in the community, information is the best weapon. Case in point is the information being provided by Traffic.com to motorists in the Cincinnati and Columbus areas. Real-time traffic information is being provided by Traffic.com to drivers in the said area. But the leading provider of personalized traffic information to drivers all over the country is not going to stop right there.

They have recently announced that they have entered into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to install digital roadside traffic sensors along the expressways in the Cincinnati and Columbus areas. These sensors will be the anchor of Traffic.com's information gathering strategy. The real-time data that will be collected by these sensors will be combined with the other data gathered by their operations center personnel. Together, these pieces of information would allow Traffic.com to provide critical information to drivers in the said areas. This information includes but is not limited to: incident and accident reports, vehicle speeds, congestion levels, travel times, and delay times.

Cincinnati and Columbus are the 24th and the 25th metropolitan areas that have entered into an agreement with Traffic.com to install roadside traffic sensors. They have joined the ranks of other areas such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and St. Louis. The sensors are being planned to bet deployed on these locations: I-275 (Ronald Reagan Cross Country Highway), I-75 (north of I-275), and I-71 (north of Route 275), these are for Cincinnati, while for Columbus: I-270, I-71(south of I-71), I-70 (from I-71 West to I-270), and I-670.

David L. Jannetta, the President of Traffic.com has this to say about the agreement: "Traffic.com's state of the art traffic sensor network is a proven technology model based on the collection and processing of real-time, lane-by-lane, traffic speed and volume 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our relationship with ODOT will empower drivers with reliable, accurate, and complete traffic information helping Ohioans make better decisions about when to travel ultimately saving them precious time and reducing their fuel costs."

Indeed, the vital information that may be gathered by these sensors will greatly help motorists from these areas as it has helped other motorists from other regions of the United States. Aside from helping motorists save time on their travel, this technology will also indirectly protect the environment. This will help the environments because of the fact that with the information given by these sensors, drivers can reduce their fuel consumption since they would be able to make better decisions when it comes to traveling. The reduction of time spent idling during traffic jams can greatly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted by these cars. This will complement aftermarket parts like the component which are integrated into Jeep vehicles to increase their fuel efficiency and economy.

The said sensor that will be deployed on the busy expressways of Cincinnati and Columbus areas will be installed without the state or local government agencies spending a penny. This means that this will not be an added burden to residents of the area. Traffic.com pays for all the costs of the project, from the construction, to the operation and maintenance of the sensors. The private agency is also planning to expand the project to better serve the community. They are planning to use portion of the revenue that will be generated by the project to install additional sensors. Traffic.com is planning to deploy the roadside traffic sensors next year and upon completion will in no time provide critical information to motorists in the region.