TIMS - FAQ

• Select the Region, Route (I-40, US421, NC42, etc.), or County you are interested in from the pull down lists found in the middle of the TIMS home page. For smaller routes (secondary roads) select the county that the route is in from the pull down list. This list will show all of the known incidents in that county. If the road you are interested is not listed there then, NCDOT is not aware of any major disruptions on it.
  

• The Special Alert is a report of a major incident that has the possibility of impacting a large amount of traffic traveling in NC. The Special Alert may contain information pertaining to a major accident on a North Carolina Interstate that is anticipated to last for a long period of time, impacts on several roadways due to a weather event, ie – snow or flooding, or it can provide information on active AMBER alerts in NC.
  

• www.ncsmartlink.org shows traffic cameras that are operated by NCDOT and by various cities throughout NC. In most cases, NCDOT operates the cameras that are located along North Carolina’s Interstates and major US routes, while cameras located on local roads within the cities are normally operated by the city governments.
  

• You may email traffic-count@dot.state.nc.us. Give your full name, city, state and zip code and the location that you would like to have counts for.
  

• If you just want to view the map, you can click the button for MAPS along the top bar of the "Traveler Information Management Systems" page or click on www.dot.state.nc.us/planning/statewide/gis/GIS_Mapping.HTML. If you would like a free NC state transportation map call 1-877-DOT-4YOU between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM and ask that one be sent to you.
  

• Yes! You may call "5-1-1" to get the same roadway information as you can on this site as well as information on other modes of transportation, ie.- rail, ferry, public transportation, Virginia’s 511 system, and the NCDOT Customer Service line. You may also call the NCDOT Customer Service directly at I-877-DOT 4YOU between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday to get road condition information.
  

• Yes! The information can be found on the Traveler Information Management System (TIMS) home page. In the bottom left hand corner of the main page click on "Download all Active Incidents into Excel" for a spreadsheet showing all the active incidents statewide.
  

• The TIMS system is designed to give travelers information on the types of events that most often cause delays on our highway system. These include major accidents, construction or maintenance projects, and natural disasters that affect road conditions. Information on these types of events are entered by NCDOT field forces with the goal of having the information be as timely, accurate and helpful as possible.

Please be aware that realistically not each and every event that occurs on the highway system will be shown on TIMS. In the cases of some accidents, NCDOT may not be made aware of the accident as it may be handled by Law Enforcement personnel. As resources and partnerships with other agencies permit, more and different types of events will be added to our system. Similarly recurring delays, such as rush hour congestion, is not feasible to include in the information on TIMS since it is ever changing. AMBER Alerts and evacuation information will also be included on the TIMS system.

• The list of roads available in the pull-down menu on the TIMS home page contains Interstates, US and NC Routes. These are typically more "major" routes including freeways, divided highways and major connecting roads.

Smaller neighborhood and rural roads that are owned and maintained by NCDOT are accessible by selecting the county that they are located in. This can be done either by selecting the county name from the pull-down list or by clicking on the map in the appropriate region on the TIMS home page, then clicking on the desired county from that region. These roads are usually given a 4 digit "Secondary Road" or "SR" designation (such as SR 1329 or SR 4005) will be displayed, in addition to the name of the road that most people are familiar with (such as "Leesville Road" or "Kelly Road"). Any known events on a Secondary Road in the selected county will be listed when that county is selected.

• This is similar to the Special Alert, which is found on the TIMS home page. County Alerts, found on each individual county page, will provide information on an incident that is having a significant impact on travel within that area. The county alerts can also provide information on closures/impacts that are not on state maintained roads. So if a city street is closed down, and we are notified, we can input that information into the County Alert field.
  

• They signify the severity of the incident’s impact on traffic. Red is estimated to be causing two (2) or more miles of backup, Yellow is a causing backups between one (1) and two (2) miles and Green is causing backups less than one (1) mile.
  

• An AMBER Alert is the broadcasting of information via radio, TV, and highway signs alerting the public to the abduction of a child in North Carolina. The AMBER Alert provides information, when available, to the public about the characteristics of the abductor, the description of the abductors vehicle, including license plate number, the description of the child that has been abducted, and the last known location that the child was abducted from. When an AMBER Alert is activated, highway signs in NC will direct the public to call 511 to obtain all information that is available about the child abduction. Click here to access information on NC’s AMBER Alert System.

	Zoom in to the specific region
	Links to the municipal traffic cameras
	Hover over the camera icon to view live feed from the DOT camera
	Traffic is Clear (55+ MPH) in both directions i.e. Both North / South or East / West directions
	Traffic is Slow (30+ MPH) in both directions i.e. Both North / South or East / West directions
	Traffic is Congested (Less than 30 MPH) in both directions i.e. Both North / South or East / West directions
	Traffic is Clear (55+ MPH) on the West bound highway and Slow (30+ MPH) on the East bound highway
	Traffic is Clear (55+ MPH) on the West bound highway and Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the East bound highway
	Traffic is Slow (30+ MPH) on the West bound highway and Clear (55+ MPH) on the East bound highway
	Traffic is Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the West bound highway and Clear (55+ MPH) on the East bound highway
	Traffic is Slow (30+ MPH) on the West bound highway and Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the East bound highway
	Traffic is Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the West bound highway and Slow (30+ MPH) on the East bound highway
	No traffic data available for the West bound highway and Clear (55+ MPH) on the East bound highway
	No traffic data available for the West bound highway and Slow (30+ MPH) on the East bound highway
	No traffic data available for the West bound highway and Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the East bound highway
	Traffic is Clear (55+ MPH) on the West bound highway and no traffic data available for the East bound highway
	Traffic is Slow (30+ MPH) on the West bound highway and no traffic data available for the East bound highway
	Traffic is Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the West bound highway and no traffic data available for the East bound highway
	Traffic is Clear (55+ MPH) on the North bound highway and Slow (30+ MPH) on the South bound highway
	Traffic is Clear (55+ MPH) on the North bound highway and Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the South bound highway
	Traffic is Slow (30+ MPH) on the North bound highway and Clear (55+ MPH) on the South bound highway
	Traffic is Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the North bound highway and Clear (55+ MPH) on the South bound highway
	Traffic is Slow (30+ MPH) on the North bound highway and Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the South bound highway
	Traffic is Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the North bound highway and Slow (30+ MPH) on the South bound highway
	No traffic data available for the North bound highway and Clear (55+ MPH) on the South bound highway
	No traffic data available for the North bound highway and Slow (30+ MPH) on the South bound highway
	No traffic data available for the North bound highway and Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the South bound highway
	Traffic is Clear (55+ MPH) on the North bound highway and no traffic data available for the South bound highway
	Traffic is Slow (30+ MPH) on the North bound highway and no traffic data available for the South bound highway
	Traffic is Congested (Less than 30 MPH) on the North bound highway and no traffic data available for the South bound highway
	No traffic data available for either directions