Traffic reports should be limited to include only traffic problems such as delays, hazards, detours, road closures, etc. They should not include accident descriptions or any other information indirectly related to traffic conditions.

Traffic reports should describe virtually all traffic problems in terms of minutes of delay. If an accident occurred, but was cleared off traffic lanes and no significant slowing occurred, then nothing about this event should be mentioned in a traffic report. Or if work crews are working on the freeway at 3:00 AM and three of the four lanes are closed but no slowing or backups are occurring, neither should this event be reported.

Every major metropolitan area should have a dedicated traffic radio station (or some permanently accessible database) that broadcasts nothing but continually updated traffic reports 24 hours a day. All vehicular radios could be equipped with a button that automatically tunes into that area’s traffic broadcasting radio station. Such a service could be commercially financed. This traffic information should probably be Internet-based instead of radio-based.

Drivers would be able to get traffic reports the instant they are ready for them. They would no longer need to wait around for a few minutes on some other radio station until their regularly scheduled traffic report airs. A dedicated traffic reports information service would save people an incredible amount of time. People who care about traffic reports would save time by not having to wait for traffic reports until their regular radio stations broadcast them between their other programming. People who couldn’t care less about traffic reports would save even more time by not having to sit through hundreds of annoying and useless traffic reports a year.

An additional benefit may also be that traffic reporting becomes more consistent and less confusing with fewer contradictions being reported while also using a single kind of format and style that everyone will quickly become familiar with.

Ideally, an Internet based traffic reporting system should be used so that people can choose to receive personalized reports or just l/aook upon a continuously updated map to see traffic hotspots.

During major traffic-disrupting events (a marathon, for example) temporary pedestrian bridges should be constructed and placed over major, important, or critical automobile traffic choke points. For example, marathon runners would be required to run up and down over temporary bridges (maybe arched bridges) so that normal automotive traffic patterns would not be excessively disrupted.

Also, during such large planned or even unplanned (if possible) traffic disruption events, police officers and traffic enforcement/guiding personnel should be required to give out free copies of maps to affected motorists and others who ask. These maps should map out the entire area and delineate as specifically as possible the major streets (and other areas) affected as all road blockages or closures, detour routes, and the schedules (if available) of the disruptive events.