The California Department of Transportation has launched a new voice-activated road information system covering all 255 state highways in state.

Callers to the statewide highway information number, 1-800-427-ROAD, only need to speak the number of the route they desire and the system will automatically provide a recording of the actual conditions on that road.
Previously, callers selected the route number on the keypad of the telephone.
CalTrans officials note that the new system will be especially useful because motorists won’t have to take their eyes off the road to punch in the highway number they want.
Caltrans invested nearly $2 million to install the voice-activated feature on the 404 phone lines making up the information network. Last year, Caltrans received more than 5 million requests for highway condition information. A total of 40% of the calls to the information system are from cellular users.