The State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has more than 1,000 closed-circuit television cameras monitoring sections of the freeway throughout the state. Now, it has one more: Caltrans announced today that it has added and activated a camera on Highway 101 at Carrillo Street. There were already three cameras throughout the county.
Pictures are taken by closed-circuit cameras and sent to Transportation Management Centers across the state, where the images are used to verify reported incidents and to dispatch the appropriate responders. Some of the images are also available on Caltrans’s Web page to help commuters and travelers make informed decisions on when and where to travel on the freeway. There are stringent guidelines regarding the use of the pictures because they are strictly used for traffic management (not for speeding violations or any other kind of law enforcement, as some other states incorporate).
The statewide network of cameras can be viewed at http://video.dot.ca.gov/. (If you have a Mac, you need to use the latest version of Media Player, which you can download here.)
Motorists may also call the automated California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at (800) GAS-ROAD to get current conditions for any highway in the state.