On 1 Jan 2004 17:30:42 GMT, "Steve Stone"
wrote:

I'm sure satellite radio is great for tunes on the road but once locked into
Sirius or equiv how are you warned
that the road ahead is blocked by an overturned sewerage sludge carrier ?

Don't you have a sense of smell? I don't think there's a way to be
absolutely accurate in traffic reporting. I can't count the number of
times I've been returning to New York from a camping trip listening to
one of the all news stations and being told it's backed up for miles
as I breeze along at 65 (being passed by everyone else).

The converse has often been true. Everything is reported as clear as
we sit in bumper to bumper traffic long enough to wish we hadn't had
those last 3 cups of coffee or took the advice of that lady whose
husband is constipated.

Another traffic problem indicator is thick black smoke ahead. You can
assume you be communing with your car for an extended period. Yet
another nighttime clue is miles and miles of red lights ahead of you
that don't seem to be moving forward.

I now live in Western Massachusetts and have no hope during the day of
being told there's a flaming tanker truck heading my way. There's no
all news station and no one dares break away from Rush Limbaugh except
to run a few drug commercials.

I've found the absolute best traffic info comes from Ham Radio
operators chatting on repeaters as they watch their cars boil over.
Get a simple scanner and program the local 2 meter repeaters into it.
Most of the usual conversation is about gout and medical problems
until traffic takes over. It hasn't failed me, yet. As a Ham myself it
has the added advantage of providing me with local directions. Hams
are great people always willing to help even with something as simple
as finding the local carbohydrate palace.

Listen to channel 19 on the old CB radio ??? lol

Won't work. You'd be disrupting the search for hookers at truck stops.

Rich
KF2JO