»In which the idea falls short of the mark

TrafficGauge are selling their shiny new handheld communications widget. Its sole purpose: to provide a way for drivers to learn about freeway congestion. Although very nifty -- it draws information from public CalTrans sensors, and combines data from several third-party sources -- it falls short of being useful because it's a handheld without any additional interface. How to use it, safely, as a driver? And why not make the software available for mobile-phone and pda platforms via Java? (This is one of the few times I will endorse Java!) Cool, but ... so what?
Were data available for secondary streets, the device might be able to indicate alternative routes -- but the state does not yet collect this data, so this feature is lacking. Even were recommendations made for alternative routes, surface and feeder roads are not always able to handle sudden, massive overflow from freeways (that would lead to even more and disparate congestion, and, instead of isolating the problem to the freeway system, which is self-contained, it could affect traffic on a much larger scale; so perhaps the lack of alternative routes is a good thing).