Don't drive and Twitter

As if drivers needed even more temptation to answer or look at their cell phones in the car, along comes a hard-to-resist service from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

This week, MnDOT announced it now offers real-time traffic updates on Twitter, a popular social networking site in which users offer 140-character bursts of information about themselves. Twitter users, like @jburcum, can now sign up to follow MnDOT's traffic updates, getting messages like this one posted Friday morning: "I-94 eastbound at MN 280 (Saint Paul): stalled vehicle, left shoulder closed." KSTP-AM reporter Kenny Olson also twitters traffic updates (try that one for a tongue-twister).

It's a good idea, and both MnDOT and Olson should be applauded for a creative approach to traffic communication. This could be the cure for radio updates that always seem to emanate from the car radio after it's too late to avoid the backup they're warning about. And at some point, MnDOT may even be able to customize the information for commuters' route home.

MnDOT officials say that the Twitter updates are intended to be read before drivers hit the road. That's a good message. There's been a slew of alarming information released recently about the risk of driving distracted under the influence of a cell phone. Texting while driving is also illegal in Minnesota.

Still, it will be hard in the midst of a traffic jam not to peek at MnDOT's tweets. Maybe the solution is for the agency to send out a guilt-inducing tweet every now and then: "Don't read this if you're in your car."

MnDOT's Twitter updates can be seen at http://twitter.com/mndottraffic. Olson is at http://www.twitter.com/MSP_Traffic