20 • August 31, 2011
Use travel tools to reduce Labor Day traffic headaches Labor Day is the busiest travel weekend of the year over Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90. The state Department of Transportation is offering numerous travel information tools for motorists headed through the pass and other high-traffic areas during the holiday weekend. Travelers planning to hit state highways can find information on the DOT website about the times and places drivers can expect to experience Labor Day weekend delays, including U.S. 2, I-90 and Interstate 5 at the Canadian border, and between Olympia and Tacoma. Motorists can expect significantly better travel times in most areas Sept. 1 and Sept. 6. Work at most construction sites around the state moves off the highways for Labor Day weekend. Even so, drivers should watch for shifted lanes, detours and reduced-speed zones. State transportation planners offer many ways for motorists to monitor travel conditions: ◆ Dial 511, the driver information phone line to provide current traffic, incident and closure information. TTY users can call 800-833-6388 toll free and out-ofstate callers can access the information at 800-695-7623 toll free. ◆ On the agency’s travel website, www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic, drivers can see information, such as camera images and maps, showing highway incidents and
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closures. ◆ The agency also provides traveler information on Twitter, Facebook and for mobile devices. Motorists can also sign up for specialized email alerts. ◆ On the road, the agency provides real-time traffic updates on overhead and roadside electronic signs and on Highway Advisory Radio on AM channels 530 and 1610. AAA estimates a decline in overall travel, including aircraft, roadway, trains, watercraft and multimodal travel. The organization predicts for almost 27.3 million people to travel the nation’s roadways during the holiday weekend, a slight increase from last year.
Police gain capability to retrieve license photos during stops Police used to rely on text descriptions to identify criminals, but now, due to upgraded computer capabilities, officers can retrieve driver’s license photos on in-car computers. Through a $300,000 grant from the State, Regional and Federal Enterprise Retrieval System project and the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority, officers can quickly confirm a person’s identity by using a copy of a state Department of Licensing photo. The program is expected to reach most law enforcement agencies in the state soon. “This is about catching bad guys who are trying to deceive us
by using fake names,” Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a statement. “We are now able to quickly determine the real identity of these people.” The grant gave many states, including neighboring Oregon and Idaho, the ability to share license photos through the state patrol’s A Central Computerized Enforcement Service System, or ACCESS. The funding from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority gave police agencies in Washington the same ability to use the system to quickly retrieve a copy of a license photo and make a positive identification. ACCESS is managed and operated by the state patrol’s Criminal Records Division. The system is designed to give law enforcement the ability to query multiple state and national databases as a tool in the administration of criminal justice. “The WATPA board members were convinced that providing this new technology to officers in the field would aid in the preservation of public safety and in the apprehension of offenders including those who engage in auto theft,” Don Pierce, Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority chairman, said in a statement. “We are extremely pleased with the results of this grant program.” The initial agency in the state to gain the ability to view license photos is the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Most law enforcement agencies in the state should gain the ability by November.
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