Real traffic info where art thou?

YOU see them in major roads and highways, but most of the time they're either not working or not giving the much needed information to road users.

I'm referring to the sophisticated traffic electronic display known as ITIS, a short form for Integrated Transport Information System (ITIS), which are designed and implemented to make driving easier and more convinient.

However, after millions of ringgit spent to set up the system, it's sad to know that only a portion of them are working (see NST Street's report http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/Streets/Tuesday/Stories/2458018/Article/index_html).

The system not working is one thing (maybe due to wire theft, network down, etc), but as a road user, I find that most of the time these traffic electronic displays fail to display (most of the time) information relevant to motorists.

For example, you do not want to see the system displaying “Pandu Cermat Jiwa Selamat” or “Berhati hati di Jalan Raya” or even worst “Untuk Maklumat Trafik sila layari www.........”. People already know that.

It's okay to have this reminder once in a while, but not 70 percent of the time, especially when your are stuck in a bumper to bumper wondering what's happening ahead, and what you see displayed on the system is “Ingatlah Yang Tersayang”.

What people want is the condition of the roads and connecting roads 10 to 20 kms away or if there's an accident or roadworks ahead, before they turn into the road or highway. This will give them enough time to make route adjustment.

System such as ITIS was developed to enable informed decisions to be made on travel such as on choice of routes, modes and schedules.
It's capable of capturing real-time traffic information for incident management and long-term transport planning and helps to alleviate traffic congestion and delays during the rush hour and in emergency situations. So it should perform what it is intended to do.

When the number of cars, motorbikes, lorries, and buses keep flooding our roads and increasing in numbers, it's good to have an efficient and relevant traffic information system.