That was interesting

Being on vacation this week, I took the opportunity this morning to walk to my neighborhood library to pick up a book I had reserved.

While walking back to my place, I was started to see a California Highway Patrol car go by, it's rooftop light bar activated. (Startled because this was a surface street, and one doesn't normally see CHP cars on surface streets, with or without their light bars activated.)

But the next moment I realized what was going on when a portable classroom rolled past, complete with an "oversize load" banner.

It turned out to be two portable classrooms being moved, along with several vehicles from the firm doing the moving (all with their own "oversize load" banners), and not one, not two, not three, but four CHP cars.

Obviously the police-type presence was needed because portable classrooms take up so much of the road when being moved, but I am wondering why CHP handled it and not the San Diego police.

Essential web site for anyone who uses CA freeways

I find this site to be an absolutely vital source of information about Californians freeways: The CHP Traffic Incident Information Page.

For anyone who hasn't used it, the basic way it works is that it displays currently active incidents in each of the California Highway Patrol's regions throughout the state. CHP dispatchers in each region's Traffic Management Center enter comments and information about each incident into the CHP's Computer Assisted Dispatching system, and as these items are entered they are reflected on this site in real time.

For instance, as I am typing up this post, this site is showing for the San Diego region:

• 1 non-injury hit-and-run
• 6 traffic collisions
• and 1 traffic hazard.

The way the site works is that it is set up in 3 horizontal frames. The top frame is where one selects what information is to be displayed. For instance, if you want to see current incidents in the Los Angeles area, use the drop down menu titled "Areas" to select "Los Angeles" and that brings up in the middle frame a list of the current incidents. Click the "Type" line for a given incident, and you see in the bottom frame whatever has been typed up about it by the area dispatchers. Sometime no details will be displayed after clicking the "Type" link; this usually just means it is a brand new entry.

NOTE: The details about an incident will usually use CHP codes that designate certain situations or certain things to be done. Some browsers will display a dotted line under these codes. Hover your mouse cursor over such a line, and a little pop-up shows what the code means. If your browser does not do that, you have to go the "Glossary" entry in the "Resources" drop down menu. (For instance, 1039 means "Message or Item Delivered"; this code seems to normally be used to indicate a telephone call was made.) The Glossary also explains most of the abbreviations that are used in the incident details.

All in all, this site is incredibly valuable for trip planning, especially for checking on road conditions just before you leave.