General Questions
- What is the purpose of this website?
- Who manages this website?
- How much of the I-95 Corridor does this website cover?
Traffic
- What information does the traffic page provide?
- What do the standard colors mean?
- How do I change the map view?
- Why is there a choice of traffic color schemes?
Travel Time
- How can I see travel times?
- Sometimes the shaded travel time route makes it difficult to see the color-coded congestion underneath the route. How can I get back to the map without losing my selection?
- What information does the travel time give me?
- How do you get your speed and travel times?
- Once I see my travel time, how do I get a different one?
- Why are there cities where I can see congestion coloring, but aren't choices for travel time departures or destinations?
General Questions
What is the purpose of this website?
The Long Distance Trip Planning Website provides real-time travel information, with the purpose of allowing users to plan long distance travel, along the I-95 Corridor in ways that contribute toward improved safety and/or alleviate traffic congestion. The website is one of several research efforts sponsored under SafeTrip-21, a component of the U.S. Department of Transportation IntelliDriveSM program.
Who manages this website?
This website is funded and managed by the I-95 Corridor Coalition in cooperation with the University of Maryland.
How much of the I-95 Corridor does this website cover?
The website covers I-95 and other major roads that together comprise the I-95 Corridor, from Maine to Florida. The website defaults to a view of the entire coverage area.
Traffic
What information does the traffic page provide?
The traffic page illustrates congestion information for the entire coverage area, from Maine to Florida. All covered roads are highlighted in colors that indicate traffic conditions. Those colors and associated conditions are:
- Green - Free Flow
- Yellow - Moderate
- Red - Heavy
- Maroon - Stop and Go
- Black - Road Closed
What do the standard colors mean?
The colors used on this website to illustrate congestion are:
- Green for free flow (93% of the speed limit and above)
- Yellow for moderate flow (63% - 92% of the speed limit)
- Red for heavy congestion ( 32% - 62% of the speed limit)
- Maroon for Stop and Go (31% and below of the speed limit)
- Black, for Road Closed
How do I change the map view?
There are several ways to change the map view. Move the map using the controls at the upper left of the map. The "pan" controls will allow you to move the map view north, south, east and west. The button in the center allows you to return to your previous view. The "zoom" slider controls allow you to zoom in by clicking the "plus" button, and zoom out by clicking the "minus" button. You can also drag the slider bar up and down along the graduated line to zoom the map in or out. Another quick way to zoom the map is to double click on any point of the map that you intend to zoom in.
When you first visit the site, the map will automatically show the entire coverage area. You can easily zoom to a state using the drop down list under the "Zoom to Region" button on the left of the screen. It defaults to "I-95 Corridor" but you can choose any of these choices:
- Massachusetts/New Hampshire/Maine
- New York/Connecticut/Rhode Island
- New York City
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Delaware
- Maryland
- Washington, D.C.
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Florida
Why is there a choice of traffic color schemes?
The "Standard" color scheme provides congestion information using colors that have become standard for traveler information websites. The second choice "Color Blind" addresses the Americans With Disabilities Act, which mandates that websites using federal funds be designed to be as usable as possible to those with disabilities. The colors used to represent congestion levels are designed to be visible to users who are colorblind to red and green, which is the most common form of colorblindness.
Travel Time
How can I see travel times?
On the "Travel Time" part of the website, there are two drop down lists; "Departure" and "Destination." The choices represent a manageable list of the largest cities as well as landmarks within the 15 covered states and the District of Columbia. To calculate the current estimated travel time between two locations, first choose a departure state and a city or landmark within the state. Second, choose the destination state and a city or landmark. Then, click the button that says "Get Travel Time"
Sometimes the shaded travel time route makes it difficult to see the color-coded congestion underneath the route. How can I get back to the map without losing my selection?
Once you select a departure and destination location and click "Get Travel Time", the system will highlight a route between the two points. If the highlighted route makes it difficult to see the congestion underneath, click on "Clear Travel Time" which will appear as a choice under the "Get Travel Time" button once a route has been selected. Your choices will remain in the drop down list, so if you want to see the route again, simply click the "Get Travel Time" button again.
What information does the travel time give me?
When you generate a route and see the travel time on that route, the system is providing an estimation of how long the trip would take, based on current conditions, between the origin and destination. It is important to note that conditions on the roads are always subject to change, and that the travel time estimated at the beginning of the trip must be re-checked in order to remain valid and informative.
The categories of information provided on the route chosen are:
- Current travel time: Provided in hours and minutes (when the travel time is greater than one hour) this is the total estimation of how long the trip will take, based on current traffic conditions.
- Normal travel time: An estimation of how long the trip would take, based on historical speeds and normal congestion for the time when the trip was estimated. This information can be especially useful to travelers not familiar with the trip, who don't know approximately how long the trip would take under normal, regular conditions. This piece of information allows the user to compare the normal travel time with the current estimated travel time.
- Total Distance: This is the total road distance of the trip, in miles.
- Time Stamp: The time stamp illustrates the time the route was generated. This allows the user to confirm that the data being used to calculate the travel time is current.
How do you get your speed and travel times?
INRIX provides the base data that supports the speed and travel times on the SafeTrip-21 Long Distance Trip Planning website. INRIX, based in Kirkland, Washington, is a leading provider of real-time traffic information, and receives data from the largest GPS probe network in the world. INRIX servers receive automated data streams from millions of GPS devices owned by long distance commercial vehicle operators, shipping companies, intercity transit providers, and many other sources. That data is analyzed and processed by INRIX servers, which return real-time speed and travel time data.
Once I see my travel time, how do I get a different one?
You can either click the "Clear Travel Time" button, or simply select new departure and destination locations.
Why are there cities where I can see congestion coloring, but aren't choices for travel time departures or destinations?
INRIX provides coverage of cities not specifically part of the I-95 Corridor. As this project is focused on the needs of the I-95 Corridor, the locations that are selectable as departure and destinations are located within the Corridor.