One of the hottest bits of technology being developed to help drivers know about congestion and resultant speeds on a given stretch of roadway involves signals from cell phones. We have been watching this for some time and have noted that one of the test areas is along Interstate 95 near Baltimore. The information is gathered by sensing cell phone signals in cars as they pass from one “cell” to the next. The software algorithms calculate how many cell phones (vehicles) there are in a given stretch of road and how fast they are moving.

This information can be valuable in that it is constantly updated. The cell phones don’t have to be in use for the signal information to be included in the equation so this would even work in areas where the active use of cell phones while driving is prohibited. Even still, it raises some questions.

Will drivers really use an alternative route if they find that there are big problems on their regular commute? What if there aren’t any such as for those who travel across the American Legion Bridge. Will they go all the way up to the Point of Rocks Bridge on Route 15 or risk going inside the beltway to take the Chain Bridge? How much advance notice will drivers need in the event of a problem, and will the system be able to calculate the risk-and-reward scenario for various alternative routes or advanced information?

Having the information available from these newfangled technologies might be kind of neat, but if it doesn’t help and help quickly in the event of a problem, then it’s not very worthwhile.

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Reader mail

Dale writes: “I subscribe to Metro alerts with my work e-mail. I literally receive at least 5-10 a day. On Mondays I have had up to 40 in my Inbox concerning delays, mechanical problems etc. [Friday] I received this one below [detailing service disruptions due to slippery conditions]. I think it speaks volumes about the lines and management. They want to raise fares to continue this? They don’t close the tracks for a few inches of snow or ice, so what caused this? An oil spill? Thanks for the outlet to vent.”

Metro has all sorts of deicing equipment on the trains and the tracks to be used in the event of a weather condition. I don’t think any of them would work well in the situation that occurred overnight on Thursday into Friday. Sometimes things happen that are out of anyone’s reasonable control, and there isn’t much we can do but grin and bear it.

Questions, comments, random musings? Write to Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com.