Md. signs giving travel-time forecasts

When the small voice comes from the backseat asking the age-old question, "Are we there yet?" parents behind the wheel can provide accurate arrival forecasts if they happen to be within range of 23 overhead electronic bulletin boards that Maryland is now using to provide real-time travel information.

Ten days after the State Highway Administration began providing the information, they have heard from about 50 motorists, the majority of them complaining that the new information is a distraction that slows traffic. After concluding that traffic was slowing as it approached the sign on the Capital Beltway near Route 450, the SHA stopped using it for travel time forecasts.

The signs were erected several years ago to provide Homeland Security and traffic congestion alerts. They began to flash travel-time messages March 8, based on information provided by a private firm that gathers data from GPS devices aboard trucks.

-- Ashley Halsey III