And we are not talking about cold and flu season, either. This time, it’s traffic congestion!  Every day, our SmarTraveler Operations Center in Boston receives many calls from helpful motorists. Commuters call to update us on road conditions, traffic backups, drivetimes, and weather-related slowdowns. We are always appreciative of every phone call. Sometimes, though, we have to do a little digging to find out what “congestion” really means. As we have come to understand, it is a very subjective term.

Congestion to some motorists means that they aren’t going 80 miles per hour. Others think terrible backups occur when their speedometer doesn’t get above 65. People have called us saying, “Route 495 is jammed”, and when we ask how bad the traffic is, they say “I am only going 55 mph.” By the way, 55 mph and above is not slow during any rush hour!

So what does congestion mean to SmarTraveler traffic reporters? “Standstill” means the car might as well be in park. “Stop and go” means just that. Sometimes you stop, sometimes you go, and you might reach 20 mph at best.  A "beep and creep" of sorts.

“Congestion” means that traffic is moving below the speed limit. All lanes might be full, but moving at around 40 mph or less.  Sometimes much less!

So, tell me.  How do you define congestion?