AAA Foundation Offering Real-Time Weather To Help Holiday Travelers Drive Safely

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 -- Drivers traveling for the holidays can check road conditions on a new web site,http://www.aaafoundation.org , hosted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The AAA Foundation's real- time, interactive weather information service tells motorists about highway conditions including ice, snow, fog, wind, and even dust storms. Travelers can find warnings of severe weather with just a few mouse clicks, and can view the information as graphics or text.

``With more people traveling by car this season, drivers are putting themselves at risk from bad weather,'' says David Willis, President of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. ``Now motorists can use our site's real-time weather pages to plan safe routes and times for driving.''

The web site offers national, regional, and local weather conditions, with links to state traffic pages that also show construction, road closings, and local traffic information. Colorful maps identify which Interstate routes may have weather problems and offer detailed written forecasts for specific areas.

``A disproportionate number of crashes happen in bad weather,'' Willis says. ``We hope that having our site available will encourage people to check the weather conditions before they leave the house.''

Weather information for the AAA Foundation site is provided by WeatherBank, Inc., which distributes detailed and comprehensive weather information over the Internet at http://www.weatherbank.com . WeatherBank uses National Weather Service data, animated satellite images, real-time temperature measurements from airports, WeatherBank's own hurricane tracking and projection maps, and historical data to provide comprehensive maps, graphs, and weather alerts.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is a not-for-profit charitable organization funded by donations from AAA and CAA clubs and members. It is devoted to preventing crashes and saving lives through research and education in the field of traffic safety. To view the weather site, go to the AAA Foundation's web site and click on ``Highway Weather Conditions'' in the left- hand column.