You’ve got company 911, 311 and 211. Most area residents are quite familiar with 911, the number dialed to summon help in an emergency. The numbers 311, employed by Chattanooga as a hot line for nonemergency city services, and 211, used by the local United Way as a social services hot line, are a bit less familiar, but both are used increasingly by the public. To that list of useful three-digit numbers, Tennesseans and others can add an enhanced 511 system, which provides callers with a variety of travel information.
The 511 system – maintained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation – has been in operation for nearly four years, but heretofore has provided only limited data, generally about travel delays. The new version, if used properly, should prove more efficient and consumer friendly.
Now, those who call 511 can obtain information about rest areas, public transportation, airports and tourism as well as wrecks, construction projects and weather forecasts from the National Weather Service. Travelers also can access Amber Alerts, the TDOT’s Record-A-Comment phone line and 511 systems in other states, including neighboring Georgia, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. The enhancements are welcome, a boon to residents and travelers alike as they traverse state highways and interstates within Tennessee’s borders.
The phone system is augmented by the Tennessee 511 Web site; by regional 511 Web sites for Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis; and by an account on Twitter. The ready availability of useful information in a variety of user-friendly formats is likely to make 511 as ubiquitous as the 911, 311 and 211 service numbers. It certainly will simplify things.
Previously, those looking for detailed information on road conditions before departing on a trip or for travel information while on the road had to navigate an often confusing array of traditional seven or 10-digit phone numbers or check a variety of Web sites. Three-digit numbers like 511 that serve the same purpose from state to state, officials say, are easier to remember and thus more likely to be used. In Tennessee, a state with a heavy investment in the travel and tourist industry, quick and direct access to information should produce expanded call volumes and additional revenue for the state’s businesses.
A few words of warning, though, about the enhanced and obviously attractive and utile 511 service: Don’t access it on the move. The safest way to traverse Tennessee’s roads is to avoid texting, Tweeting or using a cell phone or other electronic device while behind the wheel.