You have probably heard us promote our unique and useful Traffic Forecast feature, but have you been using it to its full potential? This blog post is dedicated to the Traffic Forecast feature, including what it is, where to find it, and how to use it.
What are Traffic Forecasts?
You are all probably more familiar with weather forecasts, watching the local news channel for the able hands of the weather reporter to gesture in front of a blue screen and conclude there will be rain on Wednesday. Traffic Forecasts are based on the same principle, using data to predict what future conditions will be. Except instead of tracking jetstreams, we use historical traffic data to predict traffic flow along popular routes, specific to time and date. With the seven day forecasts, you can plan your trips ahead of time and look to see what the traffic flow will be like. Traffic Forecasts prove especially useful when you are unfamiliar with the traffic patterns of the area or during holidays, when the traffic can be especially unpredictable.
Where do I find Traffic Forecasts?
First, choose the city you are interested in using the drop down menu or the US map on the homepage. Next, click on the “Forecasts” text in the grey bar at the top of the page (pictured below) to be redirected to the Traffic Forecast page for your area.
How do I use Traffic Forecasts?
Traffic Forecasts are very useful for when planning how to beat the traffic, especially if you are unfamiliar with the local traffic pattern or are from out of town (great for vacations or business trips) and during holiday traveling. On the Forecasts page, you will be able to view popular travel routes, along with their ideal travel times and a link to view their current conditions. To view the seven day forecast charts, simply click on the name of the route of interest. Below, seven graphs will appear, labeled with the date they are forecasting. The vertical axis of each chart is labeled with minutes, the amount of minutes to travel the route. The horizontal axis is labeled with the hours of the day. The red line on the chart rises and falls throughout the day, as heavy traffic times correspond with longer travel times. Highlighted segments help you see when the worse traffic occurs, therefore those times should be avoided. Simply by leaving a few minutes before or after these peak traffic times can save you several frustrating wasted minutes and gas spent in traffic.
For example, as you can see in the graph to the left, if you leave work at 6:15 pm instead of at 6 o’clock, you can miss over 5 minutes being stuck in traffic. This saves you the frustration of traffic, gas, and allows you to do something productive in those last few minutes at work.
My Traffic
A final feature of Traffic Forecasts is the ability to create custom Traffic Forecasts for routes you drive! If your commute route isn’t one of the popular routes provided for your area, you can create customized routes specific to your needs with a My Traffic account. One of the many great features of having a My Traffic account is the ability to easily create custom routes that you can then receive Travel Times and Traffic Forecasts that are most pertinent to you. $19.95/year is a small price to pay for all of the time and gas money you will be saving. Read what people have to say about their My Traffic accounts here.
I hope this information proved useful to you and that you are now better equipped to Beat The Traffic!