Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch
No need for an app with Sig Alert's maps
As TUAW's own Steve Sande noted, one of the neat features of Safari on iPhone OS 3.0 is its ability to leverage the HTML 5 geolocation API. One of the more prominent web-based services to use geolocation is Google's Latitude, which allows one to see where their friends are located and what they're currently up to. Whereas Latitude provides you updates on where your friends are and what they're up to, Sigalert.com provides you updates on what's holding up all the traffic at your current location (for California and Arizona only) as well as when you should be expecting it to loosen up.During a recent weekend afternoon drive from Los Angeles to San Diego, I was stuck in heavy traffic -- unusually heavy considering the day and time I was traveling. Sure, I could have relied on dedicated apps, such as iPhone's built-in map app or MapQuest 4 Mobile, to see exactly where the traffic would loosen up, but I wanted to know exactly what was causing the traffic. So I turned to sigalert.com instead.
For many California and Arizona natives, the term "Sig Alert" provides not-so-good associations. And for good reason: a Sig Alert is "any unplanned event that causes the closing of one lane of traffic for 30 minutes or more." So, when the traffic reporter says that "there's a Sig Alert at fill in your favorite freeway" on the radio, you're most likely in for a waiting game.
So while sigalert.com isn't a full-fledged app, its functionality rivals and bests offerings by many of its counterparts in the app store.
Need to find out if there's an accident on the freeway? There's a map for that.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Patrick Bateman said 5:22PM on 8-16-2009
useful
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Cycomachead said 6:00PM on 8-16-2009
I don't know...I tried SigAlert's site and it wasn't pleasant. My signal strength was fine, but things just didn't seem to work well.
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DistortedLoop said 6:13PM on 8-16-2009
I always use sigalert.com from my desktop before starting a trip, but have used googlemaps app on the iphone while in transit, but that may just change.
Very well done iPhone-friendly, location aware web site.
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PsychBob said 12:21AM on 8-17-2009
My issue with SigAlert in the Bay Area is that their incidents and speeds seem to be about 15-20 behind real time. Things can be better than shown....but they can be much worse, too. So not too dependable.
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Kirk Rheinlander said 8:54AM on 8-17-2009
Trivia: SigAlerts were named for Loyd Sigmon, the first radio traffic reporter and co-owner of an LA based AM radio station, whose Los Angeles based traffic reporting was the stuff of legends. He called his reports SigAlerts, and the name stuck. He invented a device to grab LAPD police band broadcasts and record them. He passed away in 2004 at age 95.
http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/sigalert.asp
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David said 1:04PM on 8-17-2009
This is one of the myriad ways the iPhone has changed my habits: when I get in my car (I live in San Diego), after I click the belt and turn the key, but before I drive off, I check the sigalert site. Knowledge is power steering.
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Mick Dougherty said 10:50PM on 8-19-2009
SigAlert is great for a few Cities in the Southwest.
There is a new App called Inrix Traffic! that has Traffic and Accident/Construction info over 100 Cities across the US.
There is also Event information for Concerts and Sporting Events, etc.