Traffic tipping
We rely on you to help us blanket the city with our coverage of traffic problems. You would not believe how hard our traffic reporters work. If they’re not sharing info with each other or the News Editor they’re monitoring the Compass cameras, taking tips from listeners, keeping track of faxed, e-mailed and internet-posted construction and other related updates, making sure the proper sponsors are getting credit and, of course, going live on the air and making sense of information that’s just seconds old. It is quite a juggling act! And they do it professionally and they make it sound easy – but it’s not.
They also take a lot of unnecessary grief from some callers who don’t have their tempers under control. One of the unfair comments the traffic people get barked at them is, “why haven’t you been mentioning so-and-so problem or route?” The answer is quite simple; we didn’t know about it. That’s why we rely on drivers to call in and tell us about the troubles they encounter. We can’t possibly be at all places at all times, so if you’re not hearing about what’s going on with your slow drive, it’s because you haven’t called in to tell us there’s a problem. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Call *680 toll free on your Rogers cell phone.
Callers sometimes expect us to make the phone calls that witnesses should be making. We are in the business of reporting on traffic as it pertains to our listeners and it’s up to you to do the right thing and call 911 or whoever is appropriate to the situation.
We also don’t have time to give personalized traffic reports over the phone. The whole point is for you to listen to the radio! We have traffic every 10 minutes on the ones plus if you miss a report, you can get the latest info sent to your cell phone by texting the word TRAFFIC to the number 680680.
No one feels the pain of frustrated commuters quite like our legendary traffic guru Darryl Dahmer. You won’t find a photo of him on this website. He’s an international man of mystery. But he knows this city better than anyone else and if someone has done something stupid and obvious to cause a crash, Darryl will say so. Our listeners love him for it. He’s also very funny and a real kick to work with, but don’t tell him I told you so.
You count on us for traffic but please don’t forget that we also count on you. It’s teamwork between our listeners and our traffic team that allows us to deliver Toronto’s most frequent and accurate traffic reports on 680News.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Lisa:
I have called in traffic tips on a number of occasions. When I do come across a problem, I always wait until the next report (always less than 10 minutes away, of course!) and it usually is covered. Very impressive.
When I read your comments about the callers giving your people grief, or expecting them to pass on information to emergency services, I was stunned.
Those people cannot have a good understanding of what it takes to keep up the traffic reporting service. It doesn’t sound like they have a real appreciation for the nature of radio, either. In a song by Rush, it’s described as “beyond price, almost free.”
Positive listener involvement helps sustain this value equation.
Please pass on my thanks to your traffic team for a job well done and second to none!
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:53 am
I have depended on traffic reports for years almost 20 years to get me to work, and I find I would be lost without the detailed reports on the “10s”. Even if stuck sitting in tedious traffic jams, I can rely on the detailed reports to explain the delay, and give an alternative. It is a huge advantage to view the traffic flows from Skymaster1, and Darryl Dahmer reports problems faster and more effectively than anyone. We have to thank Darryl Dahmer for his dedication in flying in this hot weather - and doing such a great job. And, not to forget Russ Holden for his weekend cottage reports.
An awesome team of traffic reporters at 680News!
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 am
I used to be a radio traffic reporter high above the streets of Toronto. Going up against Darryl and Russ Holden was…humbling. They were and are so damn good. How good? One of my jobs was to constantly monitor them. We were told not to bother double-checking with the OPP or Toronto Traffic. If Darryl and Russ said it, it was to be considered Gospel. Other radio stations did the same thing too. I’m sure that hasn’t changed.
It was a fascinating job watching the traffic. At times it looked like a giant creature inhaling cars from the suburbs in the morning and exhaling them at night. Navigating from above is nothing like navigating at street level. There are no signs to read and even something like keeping east and west straight is far from simple. Darryl and Russ just make it sound easy!
I don’t miss it. Aside from knowing that, like Avis, I was doomed to being second best, the physical demands of the job were just too much. What listeners don’t realize is that when DD is over an accident he basically stands the plane up on its wing in a tight circle. You are looking out the port window, straight down at the ground. You are pulling G’s while trying to talk in a normal voice. A producer maybe talking in one earphone and because Russ and Darryl also fly themselves, they may have Air Traffic Control from both Pearson or the Island airport talking to them in the other. It gets really bumpy sometimes, not just up and down or side to side but also this awful slanting action that puts the rides at Canada’s Wonderland to shame.
And if that isn’t enough to make you feel sick, on days when that yellow band of pollution hangs over the city, you fly right through it. After a flight I could wipe this yellowy brown gunk off the leading edge of the wing. Gross! And don’t get me started on the joys of a split shift. You are take off before dawn and land after sunset. I lasted up there for 18 months.
My nickname was Skypuke…enough said.
Keep up the excellent work Darryl, Russ and company. All the other radio stations are counting on you too!
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
By all means, Darryl, Russ and company definitely deserve our respect and admiration. I am so very appreciative of their traffic reports during my commute to work. I know that if my route isn’t mentioned, likely because of more pressing concerns on other routes and a simple lack of time, that it will definitely be mentioned at the next 10 minute interval.
Thanks for this article, Lisa, and please let them know that they are highly valued and much appreciated!
August 20th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Lisa:
I am eternally grateful for the tireless efforts put into the traffic reports from Darryl and Russ. They are always on top of everything and will let you know of alternate routes if the accident is really bad. No other traffic reports come close to what they do. I have relied and will continue to rely on them for my commutes to and from the office. Not to mention also the cottage country traffic on weekends has saved me countless hours of sitting in traffic.
Thanks again and keep up the fantastic work!!
August 31st, 2007 at 9:55 pm
I do not mind getting reports of traffic problems, but at some point in time listeners should call in and say “All Clear.” I have been by accident scenes and everything is running okay and probably has for the last half hour or so. If it gone, call it in and say so. Do not let added to the list of things that are not there any longer.
August 31st, 2007 at 9:56 pm
As traffic spotters, we should have a decal that can be affixed to our back window or whatever saying that we are 680 traffic spotters and then maybe we will be more intent on proper reporting on happenings, ongoings and things that are gone. Makes sense I think.