Q. My job requires me to do a lot of driving in major metro areas. Is there some way I can quickly and easily get current updates on traffic conditions, accidents, construction and other causes of delays?


A. The web site Traffic.com (www.traffic.com) has updates on driving conditions in and around 52 U.S. cities. You can get a general overview, with maps, or you can input specific driving routes and ask for alerts and alternate routes if there’s a problem. If you need updates while you’re on the road, the site recently developed new applications for the iPhone and the BlackBerry; you can find out more about them at http://bhelp.traffic.com/features-mobile-web .

Other possibilities include Telenav, a GPS navigation service that provides traffic updates for mobile phones; and mapping giant Rand McNally, which also has a traffic information service for mobile phones.