Not knowing the traffic that lies ahead before hitting the highway is a frustration of the past. That's because Yahoo has introduced a traffic feature update--for 70 major U.S. cities--on its Local Maps page.

The company's feature, which debuted pretty quietly last year, displays real-time traffic conditions including speed and congestion information on major roads, as well as construction information and accident reports. What's more, users can turn traffic information on or off with a control box that sits at the right side of a map display.

Knowing What's in Store

The speed on major highways is indicated by small colored dots:

• Green = smoothly flowing traffic at normal speeds
• Yellow = traffic
• Red = traffic is slow

The dots are displayed on both sides of a road, letting users see when traffic is moving at different speeds in different directions. Small icons mark accident locations and construction zones--placing the mouse over an icon will give a brief summary of the situation, and clicking the icon will give a more detailed pop-up.

Where does the traffic data come from? Yahoo receives data from various sources, including government agencies responsible for traffic information collection (i.e. information for Atlanta comes from the Georgia Department of Transportation).

Ways to Access Real-Time Traffic Info

• Enter a major city name directly into Yahoo Maps.
• Go to Yahoo's page with links to cities with traffic reports.
• Use Yahoo's shortcut with the word "traffic" on either side of a city name in a Yahoo search box.

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