Untitled Document

Enhanced 511 Traveler Information
System launched Oct. 31

With winter driving weather bearing down on much of the state, a new and improved version of the 511 Traveler Information System launched Oct. 31. The improved site, still accessible at 511.idaho.gov, offers an updated look and new features for the 14-year-old service.

“The new website offers a new, more intuitive user interface,” explained 511 Manager Tony Ernest. “We are simplifying and consolidating — making it easier to use and find the information people want.”

Ernest said all users will be supported by a single site, so no more high and low bandwidth options. “We’re taking the best from each of them and rolling it into one location,” Ernest explained. The improvement also means that all platforms – desktop computer, tablet, cell phone — will be supported by that one single site.

Rather than offering a separate version for commercial vehicle operators, the improved 511 has a special “Truckers” mode more customized to their specific needs.

Ernest also said the improved site welcomes feedback. “The site lets you offer your feedback to us,” Ernest said. “Based on what you tell us, we will continue to modify and improve the site over the next few months."

The 511 service has proven to be a valuable source of information on road conditions statewide. The 511 slogan — “Know B 4 U Go” — is a reminder that it is best to get road condition information before you get behind the wheel and start your trip, and to factor in conditions along your travel route and at your destination.

511 debuted on Nov. 22, 2005, just two days before the first snowfall hit locally and just as most of the state was heading out onto the highways for the Thanksgiving holiday. Since then, citizens have accessed the service seeking road condition information 41M times, including 5.6M times last year.

Idaho’s system came about as the result of a Federal Communications Commission ruling in 2000 designating 511 as the nation’s traveler information phone number.

Nearly two dozen enhancements have been made since the 511 system was unveiled. In addition to four state awards, in 2010 the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recognized the system with a national President’s Transportation Award for Traffic Safety.

Prior to the 511 system, ITD used a primitive way of communicating winter-road conditions to the public – by telephone. Each day, an ITD employee made a 90-second recording as he or she read the road conditions from across the state. The recording was then played in its entirety to anyone who called into ITD’s winter-road conditions phone number.

“Technology in the digital world moves at a rapid pace,” explained Ernest. “Our 511 system has tried hard to keep up with trends and deliver traveler information to the public in whatever form they currently expect to receive it. The platform has essentially been the same since 2010, so it was time to evolve.”