The Tri-County Assistance Network

About 40 years ago, a US Citizens Band (CB) operator named Ed Barnat started a loose-knit group called Tri-County Assistance. Its purpose was to detect problems on the roadways and report them in real-time. Ed acted as the central 'hub' for information and in turn relayed it to the proper authorities for action.

He also used the information gathered through the Tri-County net to provide on-the-air traffic reports for local radio stations. Back then, there were no mobile phones and no traffic apps on smartphones. CB and broadcast radio were the only sources of traffic info for commuters. In time, Ed got his ham license – N2RKA – and added a 2-meter section to the Tri-County net […].

The net serves the Capital District of New York, which is nearly at the eastern edge of the state, about 145 miles north of New York City. On workday mornings, a large number of commuters drive into the three major cities: Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, which have a population of about 600,000. People commute to state government offices (Albany is the capital of the state), colleges, universities, and a variety of companies […]

You can read the full story behind this amazing initiative in the US at the URL below. Are there any comparable initiatives here in the UK; does anyone know of any examples here? If you do, please do not hesitate to share them with RadioUser …

(Source: SWLing Post/ US: https://tinyurl.com/2httjbt9)