5-1-1 facts for kids

5-1-1 is a special telephone number in the United States and some parts of Canada. It is made to be easy to remember. People can dial the number on a landline phone or on a mobile phone to get information about traffic and travel.

History

In March 2001, there were more than three hundred phone numbers about traffic and travel. This was confusing to many people, because so many numbers existed, or were there, for the same thing. To fix this, the United States Department of Transportation (called the USDOT) asked the Federal Communications Commission (called the FCC) for a special N11 code. On July 21, 2000, the FCC made 5-1-1 the national telephone number for travel information.

5-1-1 numbers for specific places

Images for kids

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  The logo on a road sign

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  FasTrak antennae that poll vehicle transponders to collect data used to generate 511.org traffic information, San Francisco