Road Condition Survey

Drivers in Nova Scotia can suggest improvements to the province's 511 highway information system through an online survey.

The province's 511 system provides bilingual road information to anyone with a telephone, Internet, or mobile devices such as BlackBerrys. By entering any highway number along a route, travellers can access up-to-date condition information on that road.

"Nova Scotia was the first province to set up a 511 system," said Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Bill Estabrooks. "Now we're asking drivers to let us know how the system works for them and if we need to make adjustments."

A link to the brief survey is at http://511.gov.ns.ca/map/.

The 511 number is part of the province's extensive road-condition information system, that allows travellers to learn weather and road conditions before driving on highways. This includes 47 highway cameras throughout the province.

During the winter, the 511 system is updated three times daily at 6 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. or as road conditions change.

The system has proven popular. In January 2009, it was used by 135,365 travellers.

More information on safe winter driving and winter road maintenance can be found on the department's website at www.gov.ns.ca/tran/winter.