Where I live we call it, “looking out the window”
Seriously, we have a state 511 system, but that’s only as good as the reports they get (not very). There are a couple of radio stations that will tell you at what exit the freeway is closed in really bad weather, but other than that you start driving and see what the roads look like.
My window tells me if the weather at home sucks, which tells me what it is like all the way to work. The snow belt on the highway near us will be slightly worse, and the rest about the same. There’s only one way to work, so tuning in for an alternative is not necessary. If there’s an accident, oh well, wait on the road to make your way past it.
That can take an hour or more in some places. We don’t all live in the middle of nowhere where the major road hazard is livestock.
I was simply explaining to the OP why “I look out my window” is perfectly cromulent for some people. Apparently non-city-slickers need not apply.
Non-city slickers and people whose days won’t be thrown into chaos by being stuck in traffic for an hour unexpectedly.
I don’t know where you live, but the weather at my house and the weather at my work are frequently quite different.
There’s one route to work. It’s not like if I know about an accident I can go a different way. So yes, I take my chances and just go, because the alternative is sitting home.
it’s almost as if one size doesn’t actually fit all! 
You eat garbage and rotten food because you don’t want to throw anything out. Your idea of a “bloated cost of living” is about equal to a normal person’s “barely scratching out an existence.”
Imagine that!
I don’t need it for my daily commute but if I’m forced to head into or through town during prime commute time I check the Total Traffic app on my tablet and might adjust my route accordingly.
I commute by CTA train so I opt in to the CTA text alerts. I also check the unofficial Transit Stop app.