(May 23, 2013) –   Beach bound this Memorial Day?  Know Before You Go with MD 511 – call 511 or visit www.md511.org.  Choose your region, then simply say “Reach the Beach” for traffic incidents and travel times from east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore.  You can learn the travel time for the entire trip from the Bay Bridge to Ocean City, as well as individual legs: from the Bay Bridge to Easton, Easton to Cambridge, Cambridge to Salisbury and Salisbury to Ocean City.  “Reach the Beach” also provides the same travel information for your trip back home along westbound US 50 from Ocean City to the bridge. You can also learn about Bay Bridge conditions, by prompting “Traffic,” then “Chesapeake Bay Bridge.”

Off to the lakes in Western Maryland instead?  The 511 travel advisory system provides road conditions and travel times for interstates and major highways throughout the State, including    I-70 and I-68 heading west.

Travel information is also available directly by text or e-mail. Here is how it works:  Register at www.md511.org and create your profile using the “My Maryland 511 link.”  Select your pre-determined trips and routes – i.e. “Home to Beach.”  Then select the type of message you want – travel time updates, incident reports or both.  Schedule your alerts by selecting individual days, weekdays or weekends as well as specific times or a general timeframe.  Information on most major routes is available 365 days per year and 24 hours a day – whenever it is needed. Once you select your trips you can receive incident and travel time information automatically for free, although standard mobile provider fees/plans do apply.

“Our mission at the Maryland State Highway Administration is to keep travelers informed and help them get to their destinations safely this weekend and throughout the summer. Sitting in traffic is no fun so 511 is a great tool to make route choices and know before you go,” said SHA Administrator Melinda B. Peters. “We’re also reminding motorists to stay safe by driving attentively and sober.  Always buckle up and remember Maryland now has a new law banning hand-held mobile phone use and texting while driving.”

The State Highway Administration (SHA) is continuing traditional measures to help make travel safer and less stressful for motorists.  Emergency response units will patrol metropolitan interstates and shore routes in search of stranded motorists to help them on their way and prevent delay for other motorists.

The Maryland Transportation Authority also updates a recorded line specifically providing information about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at 1-877-BAYSPAN and on the web at www.Baybridge.com.  Travelers can plan ahead and use EZPass to pay the toll to avoid delays.

SHA’s CHART (Coordinated Highways Action Response Team) program closely monitors conditions and shares information with motorists around the clock, assisting tens of thousands of drivers each year.  Operators located at the Statewide Operations Center (SOC) and several regional Traffic Operations Centers (TOCs) monitor traffic 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  The SOC is located near the Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International (BWI) Airport and manages all CHART functions.   Information, gathered from several sources within Maryland including the Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), SHA and travelers using #77, is disseminated to travelers, media and other agencies.
 

More than 90 percent of all fatal traffic crashes are preventable, so be sure to keep the holidays a time for celebration with these helpful tips:

•  Drive focused – Maryland law prohibits hand-held cell phone use and texting while driving.

•  Buckle up!  It’s the law in Maryland and your number one defense in a crash.

• The National Click it or Ticket campaign will be underway; police will enforce seat belt laws.

•  Move over to an adjacent travel lane away from emergency vehicles along the road - a new Maryland law requires it.

•  Travel during off peak hours and allow extra time for unexpected delays.

•  Take water, snacks and activities for kids.

• Pack an emergency road kit for possible vehicle problems and plan an alternate route.

•  Check your vehicle’s lights, tires, battery and windshield wipers for proper operation.

•  Slow down and pay attention, avoiding distractions such as cell-phone use, changing CDs and eating.  Observe all posted speed limits.

• Never drink and drive!  Designate a sober driver. 

•  Travelers with mobile phones can dial #77 or 911 to report suspected aggressive or drunk drivers.

•  In the unfortunate case you are involved in a minor crash; please safely move your vehicle from the travel lanes to exchange insurance information – it is Maryland’s law.

• Place children in the proper child safety seats.

• Watch for pedestrians and cyclists.  If you are traveling to Ocean City, Walk Smart! Use marked crosswalks. 

In inclement weather –

 

•  See and be seen.  Maryland State Law requires the use of headlights while windshield wipers are in use.

•  Wet road surfaces are not ideal and require particularly attentive driving.

•  Slow down, increase your distance between the vehicles in front of you, avoid distractions and drive defensively.

 

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