Office of Operations Office of Operations 21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies 

BEST PRACTICES IN BEST PRACTICES IN 

TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT 

SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER2010 

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration Federal Highway Administration 
Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in 

the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the 

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 Technical Report Documentation Page Technical Report Documentation Page 

1. Report No. 

FHWA-HOP-10-050 

2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. 

5. Report Date 

September 2010 

4. Title and Subtitle 

BEST PRACTICES IN TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT 

6. Performing Organization Code 

7. Author(s) 

Jodi L. Carson, Ph.D., P.E. 

8. Performing Organization Report No. 

9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) 

Texas Transportation Institute 

The Texas A&M University System 

College Station, Texas 77843-3135 

11. Contract or Grant No. 

DTFH61-06-D-0007 

13. Type of Report and Period Covered 

Technical Report 

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 

Emergency Transportation Operations 

Office of Transportation Operations 

Federal Highway Administration 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

14. Sponsoring Agency Code 

15. Supplementary Notes 

Mr. Paul Jodoin (COTM), Ms. Kimberly Vasconez (COTM), and Mr. Barry Zimmer (COTR) 

Project performed under contract to Battelle for the Federal Highway Administration. 

16. Abstract 

Traffic incident management (TIM) is a planned and coordinated program to detect and remove incidents 

and restore traffic capacity as safely and quickly as possible. Over time, various tools and strategies have 

been developed and implemented in an effort to improve overall TIM efforts. This report describes taskspecific and cross-cutting issues or challenges commonly encountered by TIM responders in the 

performance of their duties, and novel and/or effective strategies for overcoming these issues and 

challenges (i.e., best practices). Task-specific challenges may include obtaining accurate information 

from motorists, accessing the scene, and condemning a spilled load. Cross-cutting challenges may 

include interagency coordination and communication, technology procurement and deployment, and 

performance measurement. The reported tools and strategies for improving TIM range from 

sophisticated, high-technology strategies to simple, procedural strategies. Information to support this 

investigation was obtained through (1) a review of published and electronic information sources and (2) 

input from TIM personnel in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New 

York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington representing law enforcement, fire 

and rescue, emergency medical services, transportation, and towing and recovery agencies. For many of

the individual tools and strategies, a wide range of effectiveness was reported by locale, challenging the 

explicit identification of best practices and suggesting that local conditions related to the nature and 

extent of operation, maintenance, marketing, etc. have a significant impact on the perceived or measured 

success of specific TIM efforts. The National Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC), in 

cooperation with FHWA, provides a unique forum for not only disseminating the information presented 

here but also for standardizing practices to consistently maximize the effectiveness of TIM efforts. 

17. Key Words 

Traffic incident management, best practices, 

detection and verification, traveler information, 

response, scene management, traffic control, 

quick clearance, training, communications, 

performance measurement 

18. Distribution Statement 

No restrictions. 

19. Security Classif. (of this report) 

Unclassified 

20. Security Classif.(of this page) 

Unclassified 

21. No. of Pages 

123 

22. Price 

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Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 

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APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM 

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM 

SYMBOL WHEN YOU KNOW WHEN YOU KNOW MULTIPLY BY TO FIND TO FIND SYMBOL SYMBOL WHEN YOU KNOW MULTIPLY BY 

LENGTHLENGTH

in inches 25.4 millimeters mm mm millimeters 0.039 inchft feet 0.305 meters m m meters 3.28 feet yd yards 0.914 meters m m meters 1.09 yardmi miles 1.61 kilometers km km kilometers 0.621 mile

AREAAREA

in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 squaft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 m2 square meters 10.764 squayd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 m2 square meters 1.195 squaac acres 0.405 hectares ha ha hectares 2.47 acremi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 km2 square kilometers 0.386 squa

VOLUMEVOLUME 

fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL mL milliliters 0.034 fluid gal gallons 3.785 liters L L liters 0.264 galloft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubyd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubNOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be show

MASSMASS

oz ounces 28.35 grams g g grams 0.035 ounlb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg kg kilograms 2.202 pouT short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t") Mg (or "t") megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 sho

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TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) TEMPERATURE (exact degrees)

oF Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8 Celsius oC oC Celsius 1.8C+32 Fah

ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION

fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx lx lux 0.0929 footfl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS and PRESSURE or STRESS FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS

lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N N newtons 0.225 poulbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa kPa kilopascals 0.145 pou

squa

*SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 (Revised March 2003) 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION................................ INTRODUCTION................................ ................................................... ................................ ................................................... ............................................. ................................................... ............................................. ....................................... .................... .......1 

Report Purpose and Contents ................................................................................................................1 

Target Audience.......................................................................................................................................2 

TASK-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES.................. ................................ ................................................... .............................................. ................................................... ................................. ....................3 

Detection and Verification.......................................................................................................................3 

Traveler Information................................................................................................................................7 

Response .............................................................................................................................................. 10 

Scene Management and Traffic Control ............................................................................................. 15 

Quick Clearance and Recovery............................................................................................................ 24 

CROSS-CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES ................... ................................ ................................................... ............................................. .............................................. ........................... .............. 39 

Agency Relations .................................................................................................................................. 39 

Training.................................................................................................................................................. 43 

Communications................................................................................................................................... 56 

Technology ............................................................................................................................................ 59 

Performance Measurement................................................................................................................. 62 

Program Resources and Funding ........................................................................................................ 67 

CONCLUDING REMARKS ................................ CONCLUDING REMARKS................................ ................................................... ................................ ................................................... ............................................. ................................................... .................................. ..................... 75 

Best Practice TIM Tools and Strategies .............................................................................................. 75 

Implementation .................................................................................................................................... 81 

REFERENCES................................ REFERENCES................................ ................................................... ................................ ................................................... ............................................. ................................................... ............................................. ....................................... .................... ....... 83 

APPENDIX A: TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL CONTACTS ................................ ONTACTS ................................ ......................................... ......... ......... 91 

APPENDIX B: ADDITIONAL TASK- APPENDIX B: ADDITIONAL TASK-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES A SPECIFIC CHALLENGES A SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES ND STRATEGIES ND STRATEGIES................................ ................................ ....................................... ....... ....... 95 

APPENDIX C: ADDITIONAL CROSS- APPENDIX C: ADDITIONAL CROSS-CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES ................... ................................ .................................. ............... 105 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 iv

LIST OF TABLES LIST OF TABLES 

Table 1 Detection and verification challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations...4 

Table 2 Traveler information challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations ............8 

Table 3 Response challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations........................... 11 

Table 4 Scene management and traffic control challenges, strategies, and select 

implementation locations ..................................................................................................... 17 

Table 5 Quick clearance and recovery challenges, strategies, and select implementation 

locations................................................................................................................................. 26 

Table 6 Example Driver Removal law publicity materials ................................................................ 28 

Table 7 Agency relations challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations................ 40

Table 8 Training challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations.............................. 45 

Table 9 Communications challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations............... 57 

Table 10 Technology challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations ........................ 61 

Table 11 Performance measurement challenges, strategies, and select implementation 

locations................................................................................................................................. 64 

Table 12 Program resources and funding challenges, strategies, and select implementation 

locations................................................................................................................................. 68 

Table 13 Task-specific strategies and select implementation locations........................................... 77 

Table 14 Cross-cutting strategies and select implementation locations .......................................... 80 

Table 15 Traffic Incident Management Personnel Contacts.............................................................. 91 

Table 16 Detection and verification challenges, strategies, and select implementation 

locations................................................................................................................................. 95 

Table 17 Traveler information challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations ......... 97 

Table 18 Response challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations........................... 98 

Table 19 Scene management and traffic control challenges, strategies, and select 

implementation locations ..................................................................................................... 99 

Table 20 Agency relations challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations.............. 105

Table 21 Communications challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations............. 106 

Table 22 Technology challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations ...................... 108 

Table 23 Performance measurement challenges, strategies, and select implementation 

locations............................................................................................................................... 109 

Table 24 Program resources and funding challenges, strategies, and select implementation 

locations............................................................................................................................... 110 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABBREVIATIONS 

AAA American Automobile Association 

AASHTO American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials 

ACNS Automated Collision Notification Systems 

AEGIS Advanced Emergency Geographic Information System 

AFD Austin Fire Department 

AIMHigh AIMHigh Austin-Area Incident Management for Highways 

ALERT Arizona Local Emergency Response Team 

AMPO Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations 

ANSI American National Standards Institute 

APD Austin Police Department 

AR Arkansas 

ATIS Advanced Traveler Information System 

ATMS Advanced Traffic Management Systems 

ATSSA American Traffic Safety Services Association 

AVL Automatic Vehicle Location 

AZ Arizona 

CA California 

CAD Computer-Aided Dispatch 

CAMPO Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 

CapWIN Capital Wireless Information Net 

CARS Condition Acquisition and Reporting System 

CCTV Closed-Circuit Television 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

CHART Coordinated Highways Action Response Team 

CITE Consortium for ITS Training and Education 

CJSTC Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission 

CMAQ Congestion Mitigation And Air Quality 

CO Carbon Monoxide or Colorado 

COP Community of Practice 

CT Connecticut 

CTECC Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center 

DC District of Columbia 

DE Delaware 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 vi

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

DMS Dynamic Message Sign 

DPS Department of Public Safety 

DVRPC Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission 

E-CAD Enhanced Computer-Aided Dispatch 

EMS Emergency Medical Services 

EOC Emergency Operations Center 

ERSI Emergency Responder Safety Institute 

ETC Emergency Traffic Control 

ETP Emergency Traffic Patrol 

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency 

FHP Florida Highway Patrol 

FHWA Federal Highway Administration 

FIRST Freeway Incident Response Safety Team 

FL Florida 

FSI Focus State Initiative 

FSP Freeway Service Patrol 

GA Georgia 

GEMA Georgia Emergency Management Agency 

GIS Geographic Information Systems 

GJXDM Global Justice Xml Data Model 

GPS Global Positioning System 

HAR Highway Advisory Radio 

HC Hydrocarbon 

HELP Highway Emergency Local Patrol 

HERO Highway Emergency Response Operators 

IA Iowa 

IACP International Association of Chiefs Of Police 

IAFC International Association of Fire Chiefs 

ICS Incident Command System 

IDRuM Interactive Detour Route Mapping 

IEEE Institute of Electrical And Electronics Engineers, Inc. 

IL Illinois 

IMAP Incident Management Assistance Patrol 

IMCC Incident Management Coordinating Committee 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 vii

IMRT Incident Management Response Team 

IN Indiana 

IN-TIME Indiana Traffic Incident Management Effort 

ISEA International Safety Equipment Association 

ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems 

JOPS Joint Operations Policy Statement 

KY Kentucky 

LA Louisiana 

M&O Management and Operations 

MA Massachusetts 

MCCV Mobile Command/Communications Vehicle 

MD Maryland 

ME Maine 

MI Michigan 

MN Minnesota 

MO Missouri 

MOT Maintenance of Traffic 

MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization 

MS Mississippi 

MUTCD Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways 

NC North Carolina 

NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program 

NCTCOG North Central Texas Council of Governments 

NEMA National Electrical Manufacturers Association 

NFPA National Fire Protection Association 

NG 9-1-1 Next Generation 9-1-1 

NH New Hampshire 

NHI National Highway Institute 

NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

NIJ National Institute of Justice 

NIMS National Incident Management System 

NJ New Jersey 

NM New Mexico 

NOx Nitrous Oxide 

NTIMC National Traffic Incident Management Coalition 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 viii

NUG National Unified Goal 

NV Nevada 

NVFC National Volunteer Fire Council 

NY New York 

NYSP New York State Police 

OEMC Office of Emergency Management and Communications 

OH Ohio 

OR Oregon 

OSHA Occupation Safety and Health Administration 

PA Pennsylvania 

POST Police Officers Standards and Training 

PSAP Public Safety Answering Point 

REACT Regional Emergency Action Coordinating Team 

RI Rhode Island 

RISC Roadway Incident Scene Clearance 

RoIP Radio-Over-Internet Protocol 

RTSC Responsive Traffic Signal Control Systems 

SC South Carolina 

SEWCRSG Southeast Wisconsin Communications Resource/Support Group 

SHRP Strategic Highway Research Program 

SIRV Severe Incident Response Vehicle 

SMRPC Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission 

SOPs Standard Operating Procedures 

SQC Safe, Quick Clearance 

TCLEOSE TCLEOSE Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education 

TCME Travis County Office of the Medical Examiner 

TERI Transportation Emergency Response Institute 

TIM Traffic Incident Management 

TIME Traffic Incident Management Enhancement 

TIMSA Traffic Incident Management Self-Assessment 

TMC Traffic Management Center 

TN Tennessee 

TRAA Towing and Recovery Association of America 

TSSE Total Station Surveying Equipment 

TTY Text Telephone 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 ix

TX Texas 

U.S. United States 

UDOT Utah Department of Transportation 

URM Unified Response Manual 

USDOJ U.S. Department of Justice 

USDOT U.S. Department of Transportation 

UT Utah 

VA Virginia 

VDOT Virginia Department of Transportation 

WA Washington 

WaTIMCo WaTIMCo Washington’s Traffic Incident Management Coalition 

WI Wisconsin 

WSDOT Washington Department of Transportation 

WSP Washington State Patrol 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 1

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION 

Traffic incident management (TIM) is a planned and coordinated program to detect and remove 

incidents and restore traffic capacity as safely and as quickly as possible. Over time, various tools 

and strategies have been developed and implemented in an effort to improve overall TIM efforts. 

The nature and extent of tools and strategies in use are highly variable across the Nation, reflecting

different priorities, congestion effects, levels of program maturity, and investment. As a direct result, 

the observed or reported effectiveness of individual or combined strategies is inconsistent. 

As part of a continuing effort to improve TIM in the United States, an international scan tour was 

conducted in April 2005 under the sponsorship of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the 

American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the National 

Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). TIM experts, representing law enforcement, fire 

and rescue, emergency medical services (EMS), transportation, and other perspectives, visited four 

European countries to assess various procedures, practices, and technologies that might improve 

the effectiveness of U.S. incident management. Major issues of interest included TIM planning and 

training, on-scene operations, technology use, and program management and administration. 

From the information obtained during the scan, the team formulated several recommendations to 

improve the effectiveness of TIM in the United States. One such recommendation led to the 

development of a National Unified Goal (NUG) for Traffic Incident Management by the National 

Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC). Developed through a consensus process, the NUG 

consists of three major goals and 18 associated strategies related to responder safety; safe, quick 

incident clearance; and prompt, reliable, interoperable communications. NTIMC and its partners at 

the national level are working to provide tools and guidance to assist State, regional, and local TIM 

partners in implementing NUG strategies. A full description of the NUG, as well as supporting NTIMC 

initiatives, is available at the NTIMC website, accessible at http://timcoalition.org/?siteid=41. 

(1)

Report Purpose and Content Report Purpose and Content and Contents 

Consistent with NTIMC’s efforts to assist TIM partners in implementing NUG strategies, the 

objectives of this investigation were to: 

• Review and assess various TIM policies, procedures, and technologies to identify current 

“best practices” in the United States. 

• Seek a synergistic partnership with NTIMC to support identification of U.S. best practices and 

accelerated implementation of these practices by State, regional, and local TIM partners. 

Information to support this investigation was obtained through: 

• A review of various published and electronic information sources. 

• Input from TIM practitioners from law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, transportation and 

towing and recovery agencies in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, 

New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington. 

Following this introductory material, this report describes task-specific and cross-cutting challenges

commonly encountered by TIM practitioners in the performance of their duties, and novel or effective 

strategies for overcoming these challenges (i.e., best practices). Task-specific challenges may 

include obtaining accurate information from motorists, accessing the scene, and condemning a 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 2

spilled load. Cross-cutting challenges may include interagency coordination and communication, 

technology procurement and deployment, and performance measurement. Information sought 

included common challenges and impediments to TIM efforts in the United States, as well as 

potential tools and strategies for improving TIM efforts. Information pertaining to relative 

effectiveness or measurable benefits tied to each tool or strategy was also of interest. Because 

information was gathered from TIM programs at various stages of development, the reported 

strategies for improving TIM range from sophisticated, high-technology strategies to simple, 

procedural strategies. This report concludes with an identification of those TIM tools and strategies

observed to be most successful and recommendations for NTIMC’s role in supporting 

implementation of these practices by State, regional, and local TIM partners. 

When considering the myriad of task-specific and cross-cutting tools and strategies identified in this

document, note that select TIM tools and strategies must operate concurrently to fully realize 

operational benefits. For example, benefits resulting from the use of standardized message 

sets/use protocol will only be realized if dynamic message signs (DMSs) are concurrently used for 

traveler information. Similarly, the benefits resulting from the use of electronic loop detectors and

closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in combination outweigh the benefits of either used 

singularly. This investigation did not consider cost in relation to effectiveness. Low- or no-cost tools 

or strategies with moderate reported or observed effectiveness may prove to be better 

implementation options than higher-cost strategies with the same or potentially higher benefits. 

Consequently, additional information gathering is recommended prior to implementation. 

Published and electronic information sources are listed in “References” to support additional 

information gathering on particular topics of interest. In addition, contact information for the TIM 

practitioners providing information to support this investigation is provided in appendix A to allow 

follow-up regarding the application of a particular tool or strategy. 

For many of the individual tools and strategies, a wide range of effectiveness was observed or 

reported by locale, suggesting that local conditions related to the nature and extent of operation, 

maintenance, marketing, etc. have a significant impact on their perceived or measured success. 

Because of their potential to be effective under certain implementation scenarios, these additional 

tools and strategies, infrequently or inconsistently observed to be effective, are included in 

“Appendix B: Additional Task-Specific Strategies” and “Appendix C: Additional Cross-Cutting 

Strategies” for supplemental reference. The tools and strategies described in the main body of the 

report are those that are most commonly and consistently reported to be effective. 

Target Audience Target Audience 

The target audience for this document includes the following: 

• Publicagency/private industry ndustry ndustry operations personnel ersonnel ersonnel. Personnel responsible for effecting 

efficient and effective TIM on a per-incident basis will benefit from this information through 

specific examples of successful TIM strategies that could be adopted. 

• Public a Public agency/private industry ndustry ndustry management or ement or ement or administrative dministrative dministrative personnel ersonnel ersonnel. Personnel will 

benefit from this information by identifying, implementing, and promoting successful TIM 

strategies to encourage future program growth. 

• State and l State and local political olitical olitical officials fficials fficials. Officials will benefit from an abbreviated form of this 

information by identifying and supporting successful TIM strategies that provide significant 

safety- and delay-related benefits to their constituents. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 3

TASK-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES 

TIM activities are typically categorized into five overlapping functional areas: 

• Detection and verification. 

• Traveler information. 

• Response. 

• Scene management and traffic control. 

• Quick clearance and recovery. 

Actions taken in any one of the five functional areas may be concurrent with actions taken in a 

different functional area. For example, public information officers may be continuously giving out 

traveler information while scene management and clearance actions are being taken at the incident 

scene. 

Responders may encounter various challenges in the conduct of these TIM functions. Over time, 

various tools and strategies have been developed and implemented in an effort to overcome the 

most common impediments and improve overall TIM efforts. The remainder of this chapter 

describes common challenges and potential strategies for improvement for each of the five TIM 

functional areas. Whenever possible, the reader is directed to example applications, reported either 

in the published and electronic information sources or by participating TIM practitioners, to support 

additional information gathering regarding a particular tool or strategy of interest. 

Detection and Verification Detection and Verification 

Detection and verification are the first steps in the TIM process. Detection is the determination that 

an incident of some type has occurred. Incidents may be detected in person by motorists or 

response personnel or automatically using electronic loop detectors and associated incident 

detection algorithms. Verification is the determination of the precise location and nature of the 

incident. Accurate and detailed information about the incident can help to ensure that the most 

appropriate personnel and resources are dispatched to the scene. Verification can be accomplished 

in the field utilizing on-site response personnel or remotely using CCTV. 

Effective incident detection and verification can improve access to the scene for incident 

responders, support appropriate personnel and equipment dispatch to the scene, improve responder 

safety by alerting them to potentially dangerous conditions at the scene (i.e., fire or hazardous 

materials), reduce secondary incidents, and save lives by ensuring that vehicle crashes are detected 

on low-traffic roadways. 

Common challenges to effective incident detection and verification include the following: 

• Inconsistent notification of incident responders. Inconsistent notification of incident responders. Typically, public safety agencies, including 

law enforcement, fire and rescue, and EMS agencies, are the first to be notified of an 

incident through 9-1-1 dispatch. Notification of support incident responders, particularly 

transportation agencies, can be less consistent. If transportation agencies do not support 

24-h operations or promote an active role in TIM, public safety personnel may overlook their 

notification. In addition, if no formal guidelines are in place for notifying support responders, 

or if recently instituted guidelines are not being followed, support personnel notification may 

vary depending on the particular public safety personnel managing the incident. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 4

• Inaccurate incident reports Inaccurate incident reports reports. Motorists who carry cellular telephones are commonly the first 

to detect an incident and provide notification. While the speed with which the incident is 

reported is beneficial, motorists may not provide accurate location information and may 

exaggerate incident severity. Motorists may use landmarks to describe the incident location 

rather than roadway identifiers and may confuse directional information. As a result, 

unnecessary, inadequate, or insufficient response resources may be dispatched to the 

incident scene. 

• Dispatcher overload. Often, especially after the o Dispatcher overload ccurrence of a major incident, dispatchers 

receive multiple calls from motorists reporting the incident. These multiple calls can 

overload dispatchers and limit their attention to other emergencies. 

• Slow detection. In urban areas, higher traffic vol Slow detection. umes and a prevalence of cellular-telephone 

users in the traffic stream generally result in quick and reliable incident detection times. In 

nonurban or remote areas, where passing vehicles are less frequent, incidents may go 

undetected for some time. Early detection helps to ensure prompt medical attention and a 

reduction in secondary incidents. 

Table 1 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming these 

challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note that 

select detection and verification strategies may be most appropriate for distinct implementation in 

rural or urban environments. For example, motorist aid call boxes and automated collision 

notification systems (ACNSs) may result in greater benefit when implemented in rural areas, while 

CCTV cameras are best suited to urban environments. Additional tools and strategies that were 

more variable in their reported effectiveness—such as electronic loop detectors and probe vehicles 

to improve slow incident detection or incident notification protocol to lend consistency to incident 

notification—are included in appendix B. 

Table 1. Detection and verification challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

DETECTION AND VERIFICATION DETECTION AND VERIFICATION 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Inconsistent Notification

Inaccurate Incident ReportsDispatcher OverloadSlow Detection

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Field Verification by On- Field Verification by On-Site Responders Site Responders Site Responders  NY (Hudson Valley Region) NY (Hudson Valley Region) NY (Hudson Valley Region) 

Closed- Closed-Circuit Television Cameras Circuit Television Cameras Circuit Television Cameras  76+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, MD 76+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, MD 76+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, MD 

Frequent/Enhanced Roadway Reference 

Markers Markers 

 FL, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), OH, TN FL, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), OH, TN FL, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), OH, TN 

Enhanced 9- Enhanced 9-1-1/Automated Positioning 1/Automated Positioning 

Systems Systems 

  TX (San Antonio) TX (San Antonio) 

Motorist Aid Call Boxes Motorist Aid Call Boxes  27+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, GA 27+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, GA 

Automated Collision Notification Systems Automated Collision Notification Systems  16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, NY (Erie Co.) 16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, NY (Erie Co.) 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 5

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Field v Field verification by erification by erification by on-site responders esponders esponders. A common means of incident verification is through 

the initial dispatch of law enforcement personnel to the incident scene. Once on-scene, the 

officer assesses the incident, determines response needs, and requests appropriate 

response through dispatch. This method is particularly effective where traffic congestion 

does not unduly restrict travel time to the detected incident. Service patrols, described later 

in this document, can provide similar incident verification capabilities. Under congested 

conditions, roving service patrols may be quicker to arrive at an incident scene due to their 

closer proximity. The effectiveness of field verification by on-site responders under either 

scenario can be improved with a high degree of interagency cooperation and coordination. 

In the Hudson Valley region in New York, Highway Emergency Local Patrol (HELP) service 

patrol vehicles are equipped with a live video stream back to the traffic management center 

(TMC) housing the New York State Department of Transportation and State Patrol. Onboard 

dash cameras relay real‐time incident information to dispatchers ensuring the proper and 

expedited dispatch of equipment. The use of streaming video was found to be extremely 

helpful for remote transportation and law enforcement personnel in determining the incident 

characteristics and subsequent response needs. (6)

• Closed- Closed-circuit television elevision elevision cameras. CCTV cameras provide limited-access video images for 

traffic-monitoring purposes. Improvements in picture quality, pan and zoom capabilities, and 

video data transmission rates have made CCTV a very useful incident verification tool. 

Whereas electronic loop detectors (described in appendix B) provide detection capabilities 

but no verification, CCTV cameras provide verification capabilities but only limited incident 

detection functions. Experience has shown that manual monitoring of CCTV images leads to 

a “blank stare”; even if an incident is visible on the screen, the viewer may not register it. 

The two technologies may best be used in combination. Evaluating the combined use of 

electronic loop detectors and CCTV cameras, a study conducted in Maryland reported a 

benefit-to-cost ratio of 5.6:1, including a 5 percent (2 million vehicle-hours per year) 

decrease in delay associated with nonrecurrent congestion. (7)

The effectiveness of CCTV cameras is dependent upon the extent and adequacy of camera 

coverage. In 2007, the ITS Deployment Survey estimated that approximately 36 percent of 

all freeway miles across 76 U.S. metropolitan areas were equipped with CCTV cameras. (2)

• Frequent/ Frequent/enhanced nhanced nhancedroadway reference eference eference markers. Installing more frequent roadway reference 

markers can help to ensure that motorists accurately report incident location. Additional 

directional and route information can also be included on the markers. 

A number of urban areas across the Nation rely upon frequent/enhanced roadway reference 

markers to accurately locate incidents: 

o Roadway reference markers, provided every 0.2 mi along urban freeways in Ohio, help 

motorists quickly and accurately identify the location of an incident. Dispatchers are 

trained to direct motorists to look for and report these roadway identifiers. (8)

o Similarly spaced roadway reference markers along urban freeways in Chattanooga, 

Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville, TN, have proven additionally beneficial to HELP 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 6

service patrol operators, law enforcement personnel, fire and rescue personnel, and 

other TIM personnel in accurately communicating incident location. (9)

o In the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, TIM personnel rely on 

ramp reference markers at complex intersections for accurate identification of incident 

locations. A corresponding map is provided to dispatchers for reference. 

Supporting more widespread implementation, a recent study conducted by the statewide TIM 

team in Florida concluded that frequent/enhanced roadway reference markers were 

beneficial to TIM operations. (10)

• Enhanced 9- Enhanced 9-1-1/automated utomated utomated positioning ositioning ositioning systems. Enhanced 9-1-1 systems—that 

automatically associate a physical address or location with the caller’s telephone number, 

display the caller’s location information to the dispatcher, and route the call to the most 

appropriate PSAP—can improve both the accuracy of incident reports and help to alleviate 

dispatcher overload. For incoming calls made from cellular telephones, a variety of 

automated positioning techniques are used. Cellular geolocation relies on the time 

difference of cellular signal arrival and the angle of arrival to determine incident location. 

The cellular tower location or the latitude/longitude of the caller may be displayed. GPS 

utilizes a chip installed in each cellular telephone to locate the originating call. 

The next generation of 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) systems, whose development is currently being 

guided by a National Next Generation 9-1-1 Initiative, will be designed to better respond to 

text, data, images, and video, which are increasingly common in wireless personal 

communications. (11,12) Moving forward with implementation, Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe 

Counties near San Antonio, TX, are implementing an NG 9-1-1 system to manage text 

messaging, voice-over-Internet protocol, and cellular telephone camera images and video. 

The upgrade will be accomplished over a 5-yr period at a cost of $24 million, provided largely 

through telephone customer fees of $0.22 per month for landline telephone accounts and 

$0.50 per month for cellular telephone accounts. (13)

• Motorist aid call boxes. In 2007, the Intelligent Motorist aid call boxes Transportation Systems (ITS) Deployment 

Survey estimated that approximately 10 percent of all freeway miles in the United States 

across 27 metropolitan areas were equipped with motorist aid call boxes. (2) Motorist aid call 

boxes are permanently mounted roadside communications devices that allow motorists to 

request assistance or report an incident. Typically, call boxes are installed at bridge or tunnel 

locations where incident impacts are significant or in remote areas where alternative 

communications services (e.g., cellular service or pay phones) are limited. Contemporary 

motorist aid call box systems support two-way voice communication that allows the exchange 

of additional information about the incident. Safety concerns have been expressed regarding 

the need for motorists to exit their vehicles and walk to use the call box, exposing them to 

passing traffic. 

Assuming a reduction of one injury per year and one fatality every 5 yr, motorist aid call 

boxes installed along 39 mi of rural I-85 in Georgia were estimated to yield a benefit-to-cost 

ratio of 2.76:1, with an associated cost savings of $329,820. (3) In a public opinion survey 

conducted 1 yr later, 97 percent of respondents felt that call boxes on rural interstates in 

Georgia were a good idea even though 64 percent of them owned cellular telephones. Also, 

78 percent of respondents indicated a willingness to pay a fee as part of their annual vehicle 

registration to fund the installation and maintenance of additional call boxes. (4)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 7

• Automated collision notification systems. More tha Automated collision notification systems n a dozen commercial ACNSs are 

currently on the market, available either as factory-installed options on high-end luxury 

vehicles or as after-market products. ACNSs serve to improve detection of incidents in 

remote areas through either the automatic or motorist-initiated activation of an alarm and 

verification of a vehicle’s location through the automatic transmission of location data. The 

most popular position location technologies include global positioning system (GPS) and 

cellular geolocation techniques that rely on the time difference of cellular signal arrival and 

the angle of arrival. 

ACNSs typically utilize wireless communication and a third-party response center to notify the 

closest public safety answering point (PSAP) for emergency response. In anticipation of 

ACNS proliferation and subsequent increases in call volumes, emerging strategies are 

currently under investigation that would allow for direct communications between ACNSs and 

PSAPs, eliminating the need for a third-party response center. Proposed strategies may 

utilize existing PSAP infrastructure, such as text telephone (TTY) systems required at all 

PSAPs under Federal law, or require various infrastructure upgrades depending on the nature 

of communications. In 2007, the ITS Deployment Survey reported that law enforcement 

agencies in 16 U.S. metropolitan areas and fire and rescue agencies in 6 U.S. metropolitan 

areas had access to data from ACNSs to speed incident detection. (2)

In Erie County, NY, a field operational test found that ACNS reduced incident detection time 

from an average of 3 min to less than 1 min. Maximum detection times for vehicles 

equipped with ACNS was 2 min, while the maximum detection times for unequipped vehicles 

was as high as 46 min. (5)

Traveler Information Traveler Information 

Traveler information is the communication of incident-related information to motorists who are at the 

scene of the incident, approaching the scene of the incident, or not yet departed from work, home, or 

other location. This information serves to reduce traffic demand and improve responder safety at 

the incident scene, reduce the potential for secondary incidents for motorists approaching the 

scene, and allow motorists to alter their travel plans on the basis of current traffic conditions. To

ensure motorist cooperation, traveler information tools or strategies should: 

• Advise motorists of the nature and extent of the problem so that they may make intelligent 

choices about alternative routes or delayed trip departures. 

• Provide information on possible courses of action such as alternative routes. 

• When motorists are required to take certain actions (e.g., change lanes, reduce speed, or 

divert), describe those actions clearly. 

Traveler information should be provided as early in the TIM process as possible and should continue 

until the incident has been cleared and the traffic backup has dissipated. Common traveler 

information challenges relate to the following: 

• Inaccurate Inaccurate ccurate traveler raveler raveler information nformation nformation. The lack of a sophisticated surveillance system is often 

blamed for poor traveler information. Miscommunication and a lack of communication 

among various responding agency personnel, dispatchers, and the media are more often the 

reasons. The accuracy or detail of information that is passed from responding personnel to 

the dispatcher is not always maintained when the information is passed to a third party. In 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 8

addition, dispatchers and the media must try to assimilate sometimes conflicting information 

from a variety of sources. 

• Inconsistent d Inconsistent dynamic message sign use. Two different schools of thought exist regarding the 

use of DMSs during non-incident times. The first suggests that only emergency or incidentrelated messages should be displayed so that when it is necessary for motorists to be alert 

or take action, they will pay attention to the sign. Repetitious, nonemergency messages are 

thought to dull motorists’ sensitivity to the message. The second school of thought views 

repetitious observance of the sign as a benefit. Non-incident-related information, such as 

carpool information or safety reminders (e.g., “Buckle Up”), accustoms motorists to observing 

the signs for traffic-related information. During an incident, it is likely that they will turn to 

DMSs for information out of habit. In addition, leaving the sign blank may lead drivers to 

believe that it is not working. 

Table 2 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—including

incident update protocols and highway advisory radio (HAR)—are included in appendix B. 

Table 2. Traveler information challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

TRAVELER INFORMATION TRAVELER INFORMATION 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Inaccurate Traveler 

InformationInconsistent DMS Use

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

5-1-1 Systems  33+ States 33+ States 33+ States 

Traveler Information Websites Traveler Information Websites  39+ States 39+ States 39+ States 

Media Partnerships Media Partnerships  53+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 53+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 53+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Dynamic Message Signs Dynamic Message Signs  81+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA (Stockton) 81+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA (Stockton) 

Standardized DMS Message Sets/Use 

Protocol Protocol 

  73+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, TX (Austin, San Antoni 73+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, TX (Austin, San Antonio) s, TX (Austin, San Antonio) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• 5-1-1 systems. Similar to the national telephone numbers for information (4-1-1) and 

emergencies (9-1-1), 5-1-1 was recently established as the national telephone number for 

traffic and travel information. Travelers can dial 5-1-1 to access current information for 

specific routes and roadways, including traffic incidents, roadway blockages, lane closures, 

weather events, and, in some instances, transit and tourism information. State-level systems 

vary widely in functionality and may be managed by State departments of transportation, 

local transportation agencies, or local transit agencies. Some States have incorporated 

companion web services (described below) that provide more extensive traffic and travel 

information. The effectiveness of the 5-1-1 system is dependent upon the maturity of the 

available system and the nature and extent of concurrent marketing to inform the public of 

this traveler information resource. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 9

To date, 5-1-1 services are available in 33 States. Since its inception in 1999, more than 

112 million calls to 5-1-1 have been registered nationwide. (14)

• Traveler i Traveler information nformation nformation websites ebsites ebsites. The Internet has allowed transportation agencies to widely 

disseminate traveler information such as real-time traffic congestion, incidents, updates on 

construction activities, and other transportation-related information to the public. Traveler 

information websites can also be combined with in-field technologies such as DMS 

(described below) and HAR (described in appendix B) as part of a broader advanced traveler 

information system (ATIS). The information is available 24 h a day at a relatively low cost to 

the provider, and it can be accessed by users from home, from work, or en route if Internet 

access is available. The effectiveness of traveler information websites is dependent upon 

the nature and extent of, and level of effort expended to maintain, the traveler information 

provided on the website. 

In 2007, the ITS Deployment Survey reported that at least 39 States utilize websites to 

provide traveler information. (2) Approximately one-third of these websites are operated in 

conjunction with 5-1-1 telephone services described above. 

• Media p Media partnerships artnerships artnerships. Most traveler information is broadcast over commercial AM and FM 

radio or television. As an indication of the importance of providing traffic-related information, 

private traffic-reporting firms that collect, package, and “sell” traffic information to the 

broadcast media have developed in many urban areas. Cooperative media partnerships help 

to ensure that public-sector agencies are fully utilizing resource opportunities that exist. 

Effective media relationships require an understanding of media perspectives, needs, and 

limitations, as well as a media education effort to stress the importance of accurate and 

timely information. Multidisciplinary training may provide convenient forums for improving 

media relations. 

In 2004, the ITS Deployment Survey reported 59, 54, and 15 metropolitan areas in the 

United States distributing TIM information, providing CCTV camera images, and providing a 

direct video feed of traffic conditions to the media, respectively. By 2006, the number of U.S. 

metropolitan areas providing a direct video feed of traffic conditions to the media increased 

to 53. (2)

• Dynamic m Dynamic message signs. DMSs—also known as changeable or variable message signs—are 

useful for providing dynamic information regarding unusual conditions, guidance information 

regarding diversion, and advance warning of conditions ahead. DMSs can be combined with 

HAR, websites, and other technologies as part of a broader ATIS. To ensure maximum 

effectiveness when communicating with the motoring public, the information should be 

accurate and timely, and the signs should be located carefully to support appropriate 

diversionary action. Signs can be permanently installed at fixed locations, or portable and 

mounted on a truck or trailer. Portable DMSs must be able to be quickly mobilized and 

deployed to be effective. 

In 2006, the ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 3,398 permanently installed and 

1,362 portable DMSs used in 81 metropolitan areas in the United States. (2)

As a quality assurance measure for DMS use, TIM personnel in Stockton, CA, reported using 

on-site responders to verify the appropriateness of posted DMS messages and to provide 

requests for updated messages as the TIM process evolves. These DMS message 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 10

verification procedures by on-site responders were reported to be very effective in enhancing 

the accuracy of traveler information. 

• Standardized DMS m Standardized DMS message sets/use protocol. rotocol. rotocol. Standard message sets help to ensure the 

posting of appropriate DMS messages and reduce the need for TIM personnel to redraft 

unique messages for each incident. Standard DMS message sets that attempt to reflect 

every possible incident scenario, however, can become large and cumbersome to use and, 

hence, lose effectiveness. 

To elicit the proper response from motorists, DMS messages must be short enough to be 

read and understood by a passing motorist. At typical highway speeds, the message posted 

on a DMS must be presented to motorists in about 8 s or less. This translates to eight words 

at 55 mi/h, seven words at 65 mi/h, and six words at 70 mi/h. Motorist comprehension can 

be improved if messages contain the same elements and presentation order. 

Recommended message elements include a brief description of the situation, the location of 

the situation, the effect on travel (i.e., delays, lanes blocked, etc.), and the action that the 

motorist should take. (15)

Although no national agreement exists on the use of DMSs during non-incident times (i.e., 

left blank or used to provide nonemergency messages), regional or State-level consistency in 

DMS use will improve their effectiveness in eliciting motorist compliance. If a situation arises 

that requires the usage of a specific DMS for more than one ongoing condition, message 

priority criteria should be used for displaying messages. For example, as part of a recently 

developed multi-agency incident response plan for the I-35 corridor between Austin, TX, and 

San Antonio, TX, a hierarchy of DMS use was defined to reflect the following priority: safety, 

roadway closures, delay information, emergency messages (including AMBER alerts), test 

messages, and public service announcements. (16) In 2004, at least 73 major metropolitan 

areas in the United States reported having policies or procedures in place that govern the 

display of messages on DMSs. (2)

Response Response 

Incident response is the activation of a “planned” strategy for the safe and rapid deployment of the 

most appropriate personnel and resources to the incident scene. Information management plays an 

important role in response; providing the necessary information to the appropriate personnel is 

critical in achieving optimum response. Accurate information about an incident—such as its location, 

traffic impacts, vehicle types involved, presence of an injury or a fatality, and other special conditions 

(e.g., presence of a hazardous material)—is essential in determining the proper response. The level 

of required response is typically determined by an on-scene responder or by a dispatcher at a 

communications or traffic management center. 

The objectives of improved response are to save lives through more rapid EMS response, ensure that 

responders reach the scene before the traffic backup becomes lengthy, make more efficient use of 

personnel and resources through “appropriate” response, and achieve a state of continued 

readiness for the rapid deployment of the appropriate resources to the incident scene and the area 

affected by it. 

Common response challenges relate to the following:

• Achieving o Achieving optimum response esponse esponse. Two common, yet undesirable, situations often result when 

incident response is initiated: under-response and over-response. Under-response results 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 11

when too few resources or inappropriate resources are dispatched to the scene (e.g., 

dispatching a light-duty wrecker to an incident involving an overturned semi-truck). Typically, 

the inadequacy of the personnel or resources first dispatched is not realized until after they 

have arrived at the incident scene. When additional personnel or equipment is requested to 

the scene, the subsequent response usually takes much longer because traffic congestion 

from the incident reduces accessibility. Under-response more than doubles necessary 

incident response times. An inappropriate solution to the problem of under-response is to 

dispatch excess personnel or equipment to the scene. Equipment and personnel that are 

not needed at the scene can cause a bigger congestion and accessibility problem than the 

incident itself. In addition, over-response greatly reduces an agency’s efficiency by 

committing personnel and resources unnecessarily. Agencies should instead strive for 

optimum response, with the correct equipment and appropriate number of personnel 

dispatched to the incident scene. Optimum response can be attained through improved 

incident verification techniques and better awareness among responders of the different 

information needs and capabilities of each agency. 

• Difficult s Difficult scene access. Traffic congestion and roadway design are the primary reasons for 

limited access to the scene for incident responders. Traffic congestion complicates access 

to the scene for responders. Flashing lights, especially amber-colored flashing lights, seem 

to have little effect on traffic movement (i.e., few people move to the right when a vehicle 

with flashing lights approaches from the rear). Historically, wide roadway shoulders have 

supported emergency access when travel lanes are congested. In many urban areas, 

however, efforts to ease traffic congestion have resulted in wide shoulders being converted 

to general-purpose or special-use lanes. 

Table 3 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—including

median crossovers and traffic signal pre-emption—are included in appendix B. 

Table 3. Response challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

RESPONSE RESPONSE 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Achieving Optimum 

ResponseDifficult Scene Access

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Personnel/Equipment Resource Lists Personnel/Equipment Resource Lists  75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Towing and Recovery Vehicle 

Identification Guide 

 NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), TX (Austin) NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), TX (Austin) NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), TX (Austin) 

Instant Tow Dispatch Procedures Instant Tow Dispatch Procedures  WA (Seattle) WA (Seattle) 

Towing and Recovery Zone- Towing and Recovery Zone-Based 

Contracts Contracts 

  TX (Houston) TX (Houston) 

Enhanced Computer- Enhanced Computer-Aided Dispatch ided Dispatch ided Dispatch 

43+ Agencies in 43+ Agencies in Agencies in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA (Los U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA (Los 

Angeles), NM (Albuquerque), TN (Sequatchie Co.) Angeles), NM (Albuquerque), TN (Sequatchie Co.) 

Dual/Optimized Dispatch Procedures Dual/Optimized Dispatch Procedures  NJ 

Motorcycle Patrols Motorcycle Patrols  All or Nearly U.S. Metropolitan Areas All or Nearly U.S. Metropolitan Areas U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Equipment Staging Areas/Pre- Equipment Staging Areas/Pre-positione positione positioned  TN, WI 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 12

Equipment Equipment 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Personnel/e Personnel/equipment quipment quipment resource esource esource lists. Problems with indirect communication and 

unnecessary calls to request personnel or equipment can be minimized through the use of 

personnel or equipment resource lists. Significant resource information may have already 

been compiled by local emergency management agencies that perform emergency response 

planning for hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, chemical disasters, etc. Information 

compiled in the resource lists should include geographic or jurisdictional response areas, 

telephone numbers, fax numbers, pager numbers, procedures for radio contact, alternative 

contacts, available equipment, available supplies or materials, and anticipated response 

times. This information should be provided for both daytime and nighttime conditions, 

particularly for nonemergency, support agencies (e.g., transportation departments) that do 

not operate 24 h a day. Resource lists should be regularly updated to ensure continued 

benefit. 

In 2004, the ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 75 major metropolitan areas in the 

United States using personnel/equipment resource lists. (2)

• Towing and r Towing and recovery ecovery Vehicle Identification Guide. Available as 8.5-inch by 11-inch laminated 

cards, the Towing and Recovery Association of America (TRAA) Vehicle Identification Guide

can be carried in appropriate response vehicles to ensure that responders who are 

requesting towing and recovery services provide the necessary information to tow operators 

prior to dispatch. Key information includes the year, make, and model of the vehicle to be 

towed or recovered; the vehicle’s classification under the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s (USDOT’s) classification scheme (examples of vehicle types in each class 

are depicted); the type of services required (i.e., impound, accident, recovery, or motorist 

assist); and other pertinent vehicle information (i.e., tire condition, cargo contents, load 

status, etc.). Use of this guide helps to prevent inappropriate equipment/personnel dispatch, 

which in turn reduces overall incident duration resulting from sequential, redundant 

response. 

In Austin, TX, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Austin Towing Association 

jointly sponsored provision of the TRAA Vehicle Identification Guide for law enforcement, fire 

and rescue, and transportation agency response vehicles in the metropolitan area. Similarly, 

the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) in New Jersey and Pennsylvania 

sponsored provision of the TRAA Vehicle Identification Guide to all TIM personnel. 

• Instant t Instant tow dispatch ispatch ispatch procedures rocedures rocedures. To expedite response and removal of blocking disabled 

vehicles, instant tow dispatch procedures initiate response from towing and recovery 

personnel and law enforcement at the same time, essentially eliminating the on-site 

verification process. In urban areas, the need for towing and recovery response may still be 

verified remotely using CCTV cameras. 

In Washington, instant tow dispatch procedures are credited with saving an average of 15 

min of lane-blocking congestion each time it is used, with an associated cost savings for 

each instant tow deployment of approximately $20,000 to $35,000, depending on the 

location and traffic conditions. Eliminating the verification process may result in “dry runs” 

for towing and recovery companies. With a dry run fee of $25 per trip, the Washington State 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 13

Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reports paying under $100 per month for coverage 

along all State and interstate highways in the Seattle metropolitan area. (17)

• Towing and r Towing and recovery ecovery ecovery zone-based contracts ontracts ontracts. The two most common contracting mechanisms 

for providing towing and recovery services include rotational lists or zone-based licensing. 

Based on responses from 29 U.S. jurisdictions, 55 and 21 percent utilized rotational lists and 

zone-based licensing, respectively. (18) The latter approach—under which a single private 

towing agency is assigned to respond to incidents occurring in a predefined geographic area 

or zone—offers the greatest potential for enhancing incident response. Under zone-based 

contracts, geographic coverage areas are generally defined to support reasonable physical 

driving distances and associated response times. In addition, towing and recovery operators 

develop a high level of familiarity with traffic and incident characteristics (i.e., congested or 

high-incident locations) in their area and potential alternate routes for quickly accessing the 

incident scene. Responders, too, develop a familiarity with the personnel and equipment 

capabilities of the designated towing and recovery company. 

Irrespective of type, contracts may specify acceptable response times to incident scenes. 

Input from towing and recovery personnel is important in establishing reasonable response 

times that can then be strictly enforced. In Houston, TX, qualified contracted towing and 

recovery companies are responsible for responding within an average of 6 min to incidents 

on a designated section of State-owned freeways as part of their SafeClear program. During 

the first year of the program, tow operators responded to more than 60,000 stalls and 

collisions, response times were under 6 min more than 87 percent of the time, and incidents 

were cleared in less than 20 min 72 percent of the time. An overall 10 percent reduction in 

the number of collisions on the freeways was also observed. (19) In 2008, response times by 

SafeClear program tow operators were under 6 min 89.8 percent of the time, and incidents 

were cleared in less than 20 min 90.5 percent of the time, frequently without any need for 

additional responder support. A reduction of approximately 1,440 incidents per year is 

attributed to the SafeClear program’s expedited response and clearance times, resulting in 

an economic savings of nearly $49 million per year. (20) The Texas Department of 

Transportation has similarly worked with various heavy-duty tow operators in Houston, TX, to 

define an acceptable 50-min response time to incident scenes involving large trucks. 

• Enhanced c Enhanced computer omputer omputer-aided dispatch ispatch ispatch. Enhanced computer-aided dispatch (E-CAD) systems—

more commonly used by law enforcement, fire and rescue, and EMS—utilize automatic 

vehicle location (AVL) technologies to locate, dispatch, and route emergency vehicles closest 

to the incident scene to minimize response time. E-CAD systems continuously update all 

information so that current field conditions can be viewed at any time. 

In 2004, the ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 43 public safety agencies in major 

metropolitan areas in the United States using E-CAD systems. (2) Examples of E-CAD systems 

in use across the Nation include the following: 

o On a small scale and utilizing a $25,000 grant to buy four new laptop systems, 

Sequatchie County, TN, equipped its ambulances with technology that combines digital 

information from 9-1-1 dispatch centers, utility authorities, and the county property 

assessor’s office with real-time incident information updated every 2 s. (21)

o Similarly, Albuquerque Ambulance in New Mexico uses a map-based E-CAD system that 

allows the dispatcher to provide en-route ambulance drivers with the exact location of an 

emergency and guidance on appropriate routes. The company’s efficiency has reportedly 

increased by 10 to 15 percent. (22)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 14

o On a larger scale, the Loma Linda University Medical Center east of Los Angeles—a 

regional trauma center for four counties—began developing its Advanced Emergency 

Geographic Information System (AEGIS) using a $500,000 Department of Defense grant. 

Air ambulances were already equipped with GPS. Agreements were established to patch 

streaming data feeds from area police and fire and rescue agencies, patient-capacity 

information from other area hospitals, and weather data and traffic images from the 

California Department of Transportation. In its current form, the system effectively 

supports crucial routing and staff decisions. An outstanding goal is to provide first 

responders with the capability to upload incident images prior to departing or en route to 

the scene. (23)

• Dual/optimized ptimized ptimized dispatch ispatch ispatch procedures rocedures rocedures. In areas where traffic volumes are high, the distance 

between interchanges or crossovers is unusually long, or the exact location or direction of an 

incident has not been verified, dual dispatch procedures may be used to ensure the quickest 

response to an incident. Under this approach, response units are dispatched in both 

directions—the first unit to locate the incident provides response, and the other units return 

to their stations. Dual dispatch has proven to be successful in improving response times to 

incidents; however, the benefits of dual dispatch procedures may not be fully realized if 

traffic volumes are high along all routes leading to the incident or if travel distances for 

supplemental responders are lengthy. 

To minimize the crossovers required under dual dispatch procedures, TIM personnel in New 

Jersey dispatch according to predetermined, mutually agreed-upon “response box” areas for 

limited access highways based on the agency’s proximity to an incident rather than its 

jurisdictional boundaries. Dispatchers have copies of these response box area diagrams and 

use them to dispatch the closest available resources to the scene. 

• Motorcycle p Motorcycle patrols. Motorcycle patrols, which can more easily maneuver in congested areas 

than larger response vehicles, allow trained personnel to reach and assess the incident 

scene more quickly. Motorcycle patrols can provide limited initial traffic control and scene 

protection prior to the arrival of additional resources. The effectiveness of motorcycle patrols 

is dependent upon the actions taken by law enforcement officers once on-scene; motorcycle 

patrol officers who administer first aid, secure the scene, and actively manage traffic may be 

perceived as most beneficial. 

Motorcycle patrols are widely used to support TIM operations, predominantly by law 

enforcement agencies across the Nation. 

• Equipment s Equipment staging areas/pre-positioned positioned positioned equipment quipment quipment. For major incidents, significant and 

varied equipment may be required to clear the incident. Certain pieces of equipment that 

may be slow to mobilize—such as a front-end loader that needs to be loaded onto a flatbed 

trailer for transport—should be requested early in the TIM process to minimize lost time 

waiting for its arrival. Conversely, the early and intermittent arrival of equipment may 

compromise scene access and maneuverability. To enhance operations, a temporary staging 

area can be created to organize the equipment and designate its use. The staging area 

should be near the incident scene and easily accessible to responders. 

Equipment and materials can also be pre-positioned and stored long term at key locations 

near areas that suffer from high incident rates. Pre-positioned TIM equipment, easily 

accessible by appropriate responding agencies, speeds the deployment of necessary 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 15

resources to an incident scene. Tennessee and Wisconsin provide examples of prepositioned equipment to support TIM operations: 

o Beginning in 2002, the Tennessee Department of Transportation deployed “Ready 

Response Trailers” stocked with traffic control devices at 15 strategic locations in 

suburban and rural areas. The intent was to assist with TIM operations outside of the 

normal HELP service patrol areas. (9)

o The Wisconsin Department of Transportation stages portable roadway barriers near key 

freeway access ramps to expedite necessary road closures during major incidents or 

weather events. 

Cooperative agreements may be required to describe the equipment that would be stored 

and the responsibilities for keeping the facility stocked and paying initial and ongoing facility 

costs. 

Scene Management and Traffic Control Scene Management and Traffic Control 

Scene management is the coordination and management of resources and activities at or near the 

incident scene, including personnel, equipment, and communication links. The scene management 

and traffic control phase of TIM occurs after responding agencies have arrived at the scene. Injured 

persons are immediately attended to, the incident scene is protected, and plans are formulated for 

scene documentation and wreckage or debris clearance. Successful scene management relies 

heavily on interagency cooperation and traffic control strategies. For minor incidents, scene 

management is relatively simple, usually involving just a single agency (e.g., a transportation agency) 

or a single agency and a company (e.g., a police agency and a wrecker company). Scene 

management becomes much more complicated as the severity of the incident increases. The 

number of responding agencies and companies and the number and complexity of individual tasks 

consequently increase. 

The objectives of improved scene management and traffic control are to effectively coordinate the 

activities of multiple agencies, improve interagency and intra-agency communications, maximize the 

use of personnel and resources, and improve the safety of motorists and responders through traffic 

control. Because much of scene management deals with personnel coordination, measured benefits 

of improved site management efforts are seldom available. 

Common challenges to effective scene management and traffic control include the following: 

• Confusion over a Confusion over authority/ uthority/ uthority/roles. Response personnel at the scene of an incident are often 

required to make quick decisions that may have serious or even life-threatening implications. 

Disagreement among response personnel regarding the proper actions to take can lead to 

additional stress at the incident scene and can have a lasting, damaging effect on long-term 

interagency relationships. The question of who is “in charge” often arises when 

disagreement exists. One of the more common disagreements involves when to close a 

roadway to traffic. The disagreement over this issue stems from differing agency priorities. 

Transportation personnel traditionally have pressed to keep the roadway open to alleviate 

traffic congestion and prevent secondary incidents. Police and fire and rescue agencies 

have traditionally encouraged road closure to protect response personnel from passing 

traffic and to maintain the integrity of evidence at the scene. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 16

• Difficult o Difficult on-scene maneuverability aneuverability aneuverability. Accessibility to and maneuverability at the incident scene 

can be complicated by the incident response or emergency vehicles already at the scene. 

Traditionally, response vehicles have been parked where convenient without thought to 

access or roadway blockage. When a response vehicle must be moved, often the driver of 

the vehicle is not nearby, resulting in unnecessary delays at the scene. 

• Responder s Responder safety. Since 2003, more than 59 law enforcement, 12 fire and rescue, and 54 

highway maintenance personnel have been killed after being struck by vehicles along the 

highway, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (24) Data on towing and recovery 

industry occupational fatalities are not well tracked. However, TRAA anecdotally reports a 

loss of about 100 towing operators in the line of service annually. (25) The occurrence of 

responder injury or “near misses” is much higher. 

• Secondary i Secondary incidents ncidents ncidents. Secondary incidents caused by unsuspecting approaching motorists 

may increase both the number and severity of injuries attributable to incidents and 

compound the impact of congestion and time taken to clear the roads. Minor incidents, if 

not cleared quickly, can result in more serious, major incidents. A passing vehicle may strike 

a disabled vehicle on the shoulder, seriously injuring the vehicle occupants or a pedestrian 

changing a flat tire on the side of the road. Major incidents can also lead to multiple minor 

incidents. If a traffic queue forms behind a major incident, minor incidents such as fender 

bender crashes are likely to occur. Each of these minor incidents, in turn, needs attention 

from response agencies. Incidents can be considered secondary to a primary incident if the 

time and location of the incident can be correlated with the primary incident, including the 

queue dissipation times. Accurately quantifying the number of secondary incidents is 

challenging; a high proportion of secondary incidents is likely minor and may never be 

formally reported to police agencies. Although no standard measure has been historically 

defined to identify secondary incidents, most estimates suggest that between 14 to 18 

percent of the total incidents are secondary in nature. (26)

• Excess d Excess delay. The 2007 Urban Mobility Report states that motorists in 437 U.S. urban areas 

incurred $78.2 billion in congestion costs in 2005, with 52 to 58 percent of the total 

motorist delay attributed to crashes and vehicle breakdowns. (27) Roadway capacity 

reductions exceed the physical blockage resulting from an incident, exacerbating congestion 

and delay levels. The temporary obstruction of one and two travel lanes along a three-lane 

freeway is estimated to reduce the available capacity of the facility by 63 and 77 percent, 

respectively. (28) Incidents located wholly on the shoulder of a roadway are estimated to 

reduce the available capacity of the facility by up to 17 percent, depending on the nature of 

the incident. (29) Current TIM efforts are credited with reducing annual delay by 129.5 million 

h with an associated cost savings of approximately $2.5 billion. (27) Cost savings attributable 

to reduced fuel consumption and harmful emissions are included in these estimates. 

Table 4 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—such as 

intrusion detection/warning systems, secondary and responder-involved incident tracking, 

responsive traffic signal control systems, alternative traffic signal timing plans, active lane/ramp 

controls, and reserved/special-use lane temporary use policies—are included in appendix B. 

An additional challenge that is not listed here relates to limited on-scene communications. When 

agencies from different or multiple jurisdictions need to coordinate response actions on-scene, direct

communications may be prevented by incompatible radio systems. Consequently, when responding 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 17

to a major incident, agencies must cope with other, inefficient means of communications. For 

example, law enforcement personnel may want to inform transportation personnel of the need to 

close a lane temporarily to remove the wreckage from the scene. The transportation personnel may 

be a significant distance upstream of the incident performing traffic control. Incompatible radio 

systems prevent the request from being made directly. The various tools and strategies that have 

been developed and implemented in an effort to overcome challenges related to on-scene 

communications are described later in this document under “Cross-Cutting Challenges and 

Strategies.” 

Table 4. Scene management and traffic control challenges, strategies, 

and select implementation locations. 

SCENE MANAGEMENT SCENE MANAGEMENT 

AND TRAFFIC CONTROL AND TRAFFIC CONTROL 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Confusion over 

Authority/RolesDifficult On-Scene ManeuverabilityResponder SafetySecondary IncidentsExcess Delay

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Incident Command System Incident Command System  58+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, WA 58+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, WA 58+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, WA 

Response Vehicle Parking Plans Response Vehicle Parking Plans  

AZ (Phoenix), CO (Lakewood), IA, MI 

(Farmington), TX (Lancaster) (Farmington), TX (Lancaster) 

High-Visibility Safety Apparel/Vehicle Visibility Safety Apparel/Vehicle 

Markings Markings 

  CO (Eagle) CO (Eagle) CO (Eagle) 

On-scene Emergency Lighting scene Emergency Lighting 

Procedures Procedures 

  TX (Austin, San Antonio) TX (Austin, San Antonio) 

Safe, Quick Clearance Laws—Move Over  47 States, 47 States, 47 States, including including including CA, FL, GA, IN, TN CA, FL, GA, IN, TN CA, FL, GA, IN, TN 

Effective Traffic Control Effective Traffic ControlThrough Through Through 

On-Site Traffic Management Teams Site Traffic Management Teams Site Traffic Management Teams 

   CA (Stockton), FL (Southeast), NJ CA (Stockton), FL (Southeast), NJ CA (Stockton), FL (Southeast), NJ 

End-of-Queue Advance Warni Queue Advance Warni Queue Advance Warning Systems ng Systems 

CA (Bishop, Los Angeles, Redding, 

Stockton), NJ (Camden), TN 

(Chattanooga), UT (Salt Lake City) (Chattanooga), UT (Salt Lake City) 

Alternate Route Plans Alternate Route Plans 

62+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA 

(Anaheim), FL (Northeast), ME/NH, NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region), WI (Delaware Valley Region), WI 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Incident Command System. The Incident Command Syst Incident Command System em (ICS) is a federally adopted, onscene command and control protocol that lends consistency to TIM actions, clearly defines 

command, improves interdisciplinary communication, and more fully utilizes resources. The 

ICS relies upon a unified command concept whereby management responsibility is shared 

for the incident. All agencies that have a responsibility at an incident cooperatively 

determine the overall incident objectives, strategies, planning efforts, integrated activities or 

actions to take place, and maximum use of resources. Transportation personnel, 

traditionally untrained in ICS principles, can refer to the Simplified Guide to the ICS for 

Transportation Professionals, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/ics_guide/ics_guide.pdf, to learn more. (30)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 18

In 2004, the ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 65 agencies in 58 major U.S. 

metropolitan areas operating under ICS principles; 26 were required to do so by law. (2) For 

example, in Washington, the following legislation exists related to the ICS: 

§70.136.030 Incident Command Agencies—Designation by Political 

Subdivisions. The governing body of each applicable political subdivision of 

this state shall designate a hazardous materials incident command agency 

within its respective boundaries, and file this designation with the director of 

community development. In designating the incident command agency, the 

political subdivision shall consider the training, manpower, expertise, and 

equipment of various available agencies as well as the Uniform Fire Code and 

other existing codes and regulations. Along state and interstate highway 

corridors, the Washington State Patrol shall be the designated incident 

command agency unless by mutual agreement the role has been assumed by 

another designated incident command agency. If a political subdivision has 

not designated an incident command agency within 6 months after July 26, 

1987, the Washington State Patrol shall then assume the role of incident 

command agency by action of the chief until a designation has been made. 

§70.136.035 Incident Command Agencies—Assistance from State Patrol. In 

political subdivisions where an incident command agency has been 

designated, the Washington State Patrol shall continue to respond with a 

supervisor to provide assistance to the incident command agency. 

• Response v Response vehicle parking plans. Response vehicle parking plans serve to preserve 

maneuverability at the scene, ensure response personnel safety, protect response personnel 

at the incident scene, and maintain traffic flow past the incident. While it is not possible to 

develop parking plans to fit all incident scenarios, it is possible to develop guidelines or 

policies about how and where response vehicles should be parked so that travel lanes can 

be opened when they are no longer needed by responders. For example, all responding 

vehicles should be parked on the same side of the roadway on which the incident occurred. 

With the exception of vehicles parked to secure the incident scene, response vehicles should 

be parked on the shoulder to keep from blocking any additional lanes of traffic. Fire 

personnel are usually directed to park their vehicles directly behind or in front of the cars 

involved in the emergency, to minimize the disruption of traffic and to reduce the exposure of 

personnel and apparatus to danger. On-scene tow trucks, sand trucks, and other vehicles 

should be parked where they can be accessed and moved while not blocking lane-opening 

activities. 

The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC’s) Vehicle Safety Resources website, 

accessible at http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=413, includes 

links to various standard operating procedures in use by fire and rescue agencies across the 

Nation that detail appropriate on-scene vehicle parking. Select examples are listed below: 

o In Phoenix, AZ, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for freeways, accessible at 

http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/AZ%20-%20Freeway%20SOP.pdf, direct 

fire and rescue personnel to position apparatus between oncoming traffic and response 

personnel to protect the scene, but to avoid unnecessarily blocking traffic lanes to permit 

law enforcement to move traffic and relieve congestion. (31)

o In Lakewood, CO, SOPs developed by West Metro Fire and Rescue related to vehicle 

placement on highways, accessible at 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 19

http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/CO%20-

%20Highway%20Placement%20SOP.pdf, note that reducing and/or shutting down traffic 

lanes can create other problems and safety concerns. Unnecessarily closing or keeping 

traffic lanes closed greatly increases the risk of a secondary incident occurring in the 

resulting backup. (32)

o In Iowa, Urbandale fire and rescue personnel utilize a Roadway Incident “Cue Card,” 

accessible at http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/IA%20-

%20Roadway%20Incident%20Cue%20Card.doc, that reminds response personnel of 

proper vehicle placement and encourages aggressive termination of incidents, noting 

that a faster return to normal traffic flow reduces the potential risk of secondary incident 

and response personnel exposure. (33)

o Similarly, the City of Lancaster Fire Department in Texas promotes aggressive incident 

termination in their SOPs, accessible at 

http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/safetyWkResVehSOP%5FTX%2DSOG%2DF

%2D05TrafficAndHighwaySafety%2Epdf, to reduce exposure of crews, apparatus, and 

equipment to moving traffic. (34)

o In Michigan, the Farmington Hills Fire Department follows SOPs specific to operations 

that take place on or near roadways with moving vehicular traffic. These SOPs, 

accessible at http://www.iafc.org/associations/4685/files/MI%20-

%20Emergency%20Scene%20Traffic%20Management.pdf, identify specific apparatus 

placement practices and are intended to work in conjunction with law enforcement traffic 

control measures. (35)

The effectiveness of response vehicle parking plans is more likely dependent upon TIM 

practitioner adherence to the response vehicle parking plan rather than the design of the 

underlying plans. Unless response vehicle parking plans are integrated into TIM intra- and 

interagency training, consistent adherence to the plan among all incident response 

personnel will be challenged. 

• High-visibility isibility isibility safety apparel/ pparel/ pparel/vehiclemarkings arkings arkings. The visibility and conspicuity of emergency 

vehicles have been the subject of significant historic investigation. Most recently the U.S. 

Fire Administration and the International Fire Service Training Association published the 

Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity Study, intended to improve on-scene safety for 

all incident responders with a focus on passive visibility/conspicuity treatments. (36) In brief, 

the study identified several opportunities for improving the visibility and conspicuity of 

emergency vehicles through the proper placement of retroreflective materials to optimize 

interaction with approaching vehicle headlamps and the use of contour markings, 

fluorescent and/or high-efficiency retroreflective materials, and distinctive logos or emblems 

made with retroreflective material. 

High-visibility safety apparel plays an important concurrent role in ensuring scene safety. 

High-visibility safety apparel is defined as personal protective safety clothing that is intended 

to provide conspicuity during both daytime and nighttime usage. In November 2008, 23 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 634 was enacted to mandate the use of high-visibility 

clothing meeting American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/International Safety 

Equipment Association (ISEA) 107 Class 2 or 3 requirements by anyone working in the rightof-way of a Federal-aid highway. In December 2009, Section 6D.03 of the Manual of 

Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) introduced related 

standards for high-visibility safety apparel: 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 20

Standard: All workers, including emergency responders, within the right-ofway who are exposed either to traffic (vehicles using the highway for 

purposes of travel) or to work vehicles and construction equipment within the 

TTC zone shall wear high-visibility safety apparel that meets the Performance 

Class 2 or 3 requirements of the ANSI/ISEA 107–2004 publication entitled 

“American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel and Headwear” 

(see Section 1A.11), or equivalent revisions, and labeled as meeting the ANSI 

107-2004 standard performance for Class 2 or 3 risk exposure, except as 

provided in Paragraph 5. A person designated by the employer to be 

responsible for worker safety shall make the selection of the appropriate 

class of garment. 

Option: Emergency and incident responders and law enforcement personnel 

within the TTC zone may wear high-visibility safety apparel that meets the 

performance requirements of the ANSI/ISEA 207-2006 publication entitled 

“American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests” (see 

Section 1A.11), or equivalent revisions, and labeled as ANSI 207-2006, in 

lieu of ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 apparel. (37)

Instituting many of the recommended principles for high-visibility vehicles and safety apparel, 

the Western Eagle County Ambulance District in Eagle, CO, has instituted a new visibility 

safety program for vehicles and personnel. Based on European models, three of the 

district’s vehicles feature distinctive reflective yellow and blue chevron stripes across the 

back, yellow and blue horizontal stripes along each side, and white contour lines outlining the 

profile of the vehicle. Ambulance doors are additionally equipped with blinking lights. 

Ambulance personnel wear the same reflective colors on their windbreaker coats and fleece 

jackets. (38)

• On-scene emergency mergency mergency lighting ighting ighting procedures rocedures rocedures. In the initial stages of an incident, the appropriate 

use of emergency lights is essential for responder and motorist safety. Emergency lights 

help speed the response of emergency personnel to the incident and serve as a warning to 

approaching traffic of the presence of stopped or slowed vehicles in the area. However, the 

prolonged use of emergency lights at the scene of an incident can have detrimental effects. 

Emergency lights are often distracting and confusing to motorists, especially at night and for 

major incidents that involve a number of emergency vehicles. Emergency lights also 

contribute to congestion as motorists slow down to observe the cause of the flashing lights. 

Consequently, the use of emergency lights should be reduced as soon as sufficient traffic 

control (i.e., advance warning signs and traffic control devices) has been established at the 

incident scene. Specific guidelines can be developed that include general emergency-light 

use procedures (i.e., turn off forward-facing emergency lights once on-scene; avoid using red 

or white flashing, strobing, or oscillating lights of any kind around merging lanes to avoid 

masking the directional arrow lights) and a phased approach for reducing emergency-light 

use concurrent with the deployment of traffic control devices for scene protection. 

Section 6I.05 Use of Emergency-Vehicle Lighting in the MUTCD, 2009 edition, provides the 

following guidance related to emergency-light use: 

Public safety agencies should examine their policies on the use of 

emergency-vehicle lighting, especially after a traffic incident scene is secured, 

with the intent of reducing the use of this lighting as much as possible while 

not endangering those at the scene. Special consideration should be given 

to reducing or extinguishing forward facing emergency-vehicle lighting, 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 21

especially on divided roadways, to reduce distractions to oncoming road 

users. 

Because the glare from floodlights or vehicle headlights can impair the 

nighttime vision of approaching road users, any floodlights or vehicle 

headlights that are not needed for illumination, or to provide notice to other 

road users of an incident response vehicle being in an unexpected location, 

should be turned off at night. (37)

Consistent with this guidance, on-scene emergency lighting procedures were recently 

developed as part of a multi-agency incident response plan for the I-35 corridor between 

Austin and San Antonio, TX, to promote the phased use of emergency lighting on-scene (i.e., 

use emergency lighting in the initial stages of an incident but reduce emergency lighting as 

soon as sufficient traffic control is in place), the preferred types of lighting, and the 

appropriate times and circumstances for use (e.g., when en route to a confirmed incident 

with injuries or incident that is blocking a travel lane). (16) In addition, the IAFC Vehicle Safety 

Resources website, identified previously and accessible at 

http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=413, includes links to various 

standard operating procedures in use by fire and rescue agencies across the Nation that 

detail appropriate emergency-light use. 

• Safe, q Safe, quick clearance learance learance laws—Move Over. Move Over laws require drivers approaching a scene 

where emergency responders are present to either change lanes when possible and/or 

reduce speed with the intent of enhancing responder safety. Move Over laws are commonly 

included as extensions to pre-existing laws directing a driver to slow and pull to the side of 

the road to allow emergency vehicles with warning devices activated to pass. These laws 

have been modified to include driver guidance when approaching and passing stationary 

emergency vehicles along the roadside. Anecdotally, responders have expressed concern 

over the lack of Move Over law awareness among drivers and the challenges faced by law 

enforcement personnel tasked with performing incident management duties and 

concurrently enforcing Move Over laws. 

At the time of this investigation, all but two States—Hawaii and New York—have enacted 

Move Over laws. Significant national initiatives, led by the Move Over, America partnership 

and the American Automobile Association (AAA), have contributed to the proliferation of 

these laws among States. The AAA initiative encourages enactment of Move Over laws that 

cover tow trucks and other roadside assistance vehicles in addition to law enforcement 

vehicles, fire trucks, and ambulances. 

Because the effectiveness of Move Over laws relies heavily upon driver cooperation, the 

Move Over, America partnership and AAA initiated concurrent national public information 

campaigns comprised of public safety announcements and other publicity efforts in an effort 

to raise awareness of driver responsibilities under these laws. Select States, such as Florida, 

have also included State-mandated driver education initiatives and enforcement directives 

as part of their legislation: 

§316.126. 2 (c) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall 

provide an educational awareness campaign informing the motoring public 

about the Move Over Act. The department shall provide information about 

the Move Over Act in all newly printed driver’s license educational materials 

after July 1, 2002. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 22

More information regarding Move Over laws, including recommendations for model 

language, can be found in FHWA’s Traffic Incident Management Quick Clearance Laws: A

National Review of Best Practices, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop09005/index.htm. 

(39) In addition, a recent 

FHWA educational outreach initiative aimed at encouraging the adoption and effective 

implementation of safe, quick clearance laws, including Move Over laws, is described in 

Educational Outreach for Safe, Quick Clearance (SQC) Laws and Policies, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10012/tim_sqc.pdf. 

(40)

• Effective traffic control Effective traffic controlthrough o through o through on-site traffic management anagement anagement teams. The rapid deployment of 

traffic control devices at the scene of an incident not only improves access to the scene for 

responders but also provides a safe on-scene environment for responders performing TIM 

duties and minimizes the potential for secondary incidents involving approaching motorists. 

A number of urban areas across the Nation rely upon on-site traffic management teams to 

ensure the rapid and appropriate deployment of traffic control devices at an incident scene: 

o To ensure adequate scene protection for incident responders, TIM personnel in Stockton, 

CA, reported using on-site traffic management teams to quickly and effectively establish 

proper traffic control. 

o Similarly, in New Jersey, an Incident Management Response Team (IMRT) responds to 

major highway incidents or planned events and directs the proper response and use of 

transportation-related resources in the most efficient fashion. These specially trained 

teams provide technical, logistical, and incident management support to the incident 

commander by establishing necessary traffic control and diversion routes, serving as the 

liaison for the New Jersey Department of Transportation to mobilize resources, safely and 

quickly restoring lanes of traffic, facilitating necessary repairs, and reopening the 

roadway. In addition, IMRT members work with other in-state and out-of-state agencies 

in planning, coordinating, and implementing traffic remediation efforts for special events 

such as major sporting and entertainment events. 

o In southeast Florida, the Severe Incident Response Vehicle (SIRV) program is dedicated 

to keeping motorists and emergency responders safe during traffic incidents while 

working to quickly clear the roadways. Program personnel respond to severe traffic 

incidents such as full highway closures, fatalities, overturned commercial trucks, and any 

other event that may last longer than 2 h. (6) The SIRV vehicles carry additional 

equipment and supplies to provide a higher level of traffic maintenance than that 

supported by the Road Ranger service patrol vehicles. 

• End-of-queue advance warning systems. Static, arrow board, or dynamic message signs are 

commonly utilized to warn approaching motorists of a downstream traffic queue. Arrow 

boards and DMSs used for this purpose are commonly portable, and mounted on trailers or 

installed on appropriate response vehicles. End-of-queue advance warning should occur far 

enough upstream to provide motorists with sufficient notice to slow and stop their vehicle, as 

necessary. The appropriate location varies depending on the speed limit, extent of 

congestion, and roadway geometrics that affect driver sight distance. Warning devices 

should be moved as needed to remain well in advance of the queue. The effectiveness of 

end-of-queue advance warning systems is dependent upon the nature and extent of traffic 

control devices available as part of the end-of-queue advance warning system, and the 

expediency with which these devices are mobilized and deployed. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 23

End-of-queue advance warning systems are widely used to support TIM operations, 

predominantly by transportation agencies across the Nation. Of the participants in this 

investigation, end-of-queue advance warning systems are reported to be in use in Bishop, CA, 

Los Angeles, CA, Redding, CA, Stockton, CA, Camden, NJ, Chattanooga, TN, and Salt Lake 

City, UT. 

• Alternate r Alternate route plans. Alternate routes have the potential to reduce traffic demand at the 

scene and reduce delay and frustration for the motoring public. Appropriate alternate routes 

intended for public use are often difficult to identify and require associated diversion plans to 

be effective. During an incident, motorists may self-route or be directed to an alternate route 

by response personnel. Not all routes may be able to accommodate all traffic types. Truck 

traffic requires sufficient infrastructure that can support heavy loads and accommodate 

larger vehicle dimensions. Bridge and overpass structures are commonly limiting factors 

along potential alternate routes. In such instances, distinct alternate routes may be 

identified for passenger car and truck traffic. The designation of alternate routes can be 

politically charged; buy-in from all affected jurisdictions is required. When county or city 

roadways are utilized as alternate routes, appropriate jurisdictions should be notified 

immediately so that they may adjust to accommodate the additional traffic flow. 

Despite these challenges, the 2004 ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 62 major 

metropolitan areas in the United States with pre-planned alternate route plans serving 

certain sections of the freeway system. (2) Select examples include the following: 

o In northeast Florida, TIM practitioners developed alternate route plans and distributed 

these plans, in electronic format, to all TIM agencies. (6)

o Working closely with local law enforcement agencies, TIM practitioners in Maine and New 

Hampshire developed a series of alternate route maps that include local routing 

scenarios with officer locations, barricades, bridge closures, and detour signs for all 

major highways within their jurisdictions. (6)

o In New Jersey, personnel from the New Jersey Department of Transportation and State 

Police act as facilitators for multi-agency groups tasked with developing alternate route 

plans for all State highways and interstates. To date, plans have been established for 19 

of the 21 counties. In a recent related initiative, the DVRPC developed the web-based 

Interactive Detour Route Mapping (IDRuM) application, accessible at www.idrum.us, 

which currently includes existing regional emergency route plans for New Jersey and 

Pennsylvania. The IDRuM application is available both online and offline, with the offline 

version designed to give TIM personnel access to the alternate routes where Internet 

access is limited or nonexistent. The ultimate goal is to integrate New Jersey’s alternate 

route plans into IDRuM for statewide application. 

o In Wisconsin, a statewide template was developed to lend consistency when establishing 

and signing for emergency alternate routes. (6)

o To lend consistency to operations when implementing alternate route plans, a real-time, 

knowledge-based decision support tool—Traffic Control Manager—was used to assist TMC 

personnel in Anaheim, CA, with selection of alternate route plans and associated traffic 

signal control timing plans after the occurrence of an incident. Simulations indicated 

that the plans chosen by the decision support tool reduced average travel time 1.9 to 29 

percent and reduced stop time 14.8 to 55.9 percent, compared to scenarios without the 

tool. (41)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 24

Common criteria for initiating traffic diversion to alternate routes are based on the type of 

incident (reported by 56 metropolitan areas), incident duration (reported by 59 metropolitan 

areas), incident location (reported by 53 metropolitan areas), number of freeway lanes 

blocked (reported by 55 metropolitan areas), and time of day (reported by 36 metropolitan 

areas). (2)

Sufficient personnel, traffic control devices, and signing are required to adequately convey 

diversion direction to the motoring public who are being asked or required to divert. More 

information on developing and implementing alternate route plans is available in FHWA’s 

Alternate Route Handbook, accessible at 

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/ar%5Fhandbook/. 

(42)

Quick Clearance and Recovery Quick Clearance and Recovery 

Clearance and recovery are the final steps in the TIM process. Clearance refers to the safe and 

timely removal of any wreckage, debris, or spilled material from the roadway. Recovery refers to the 

restoration of the roadway to its full capacity. It is important to recognize that when providing 

information to the motoring public, motorists are most interested in their chances of encountering 

delay—an incident should not be publicly reported as “cleared” until the traffic backup has fully 

cleared. If an incident has been reported cleared because the blockage has been removed but 

motorists encounter significant delay in the traffic backup, an agency may lose credibility and the 

public’s trust and respect. 

The objectives of improved incident clearance and recovery are to restore full roadway capacity as 

quickly and safely as possible; enhance the safety of responders and motorists; make the most 

efficient use of resources, including equipment and personnel; and minimize delay and ease 

frustration for motorists. Effective incident clearance relies on effective equipment utilization (i.e., 

appropriate towing and recovery vehicles, push bumpers, etc.) and an awareness of legal authority to 

speed clearance. 

Common challenges to effective quick clearance and recovery relate to the following: 

• Abandoned v Abandoned vehicle hazards. When a vehicle becomes disabled because of a mechanical 

failure, gasoline depletion, flat tire, or some other reason, motorists seldom stay in their 

vehicle and wait for help. Many walk along the roadway shoulder or are transported by 

another passing vehicle to reach services. When responders stop to offer assistance and a 

motorist is not with a vehicle, their action is commonly limited to “tagging” the vehicle as 

abandoned (if the responder has that authority). Once a vehicle has been tagged as 

abandoned, motorists are allowed to leave a vehicle in its location often in excess of 24 h 

and up to 72 h. Results of the 2004 ITS Deployment Survey indicated that 47 percent of 

participating metropolitan areas allow abandoned vehicles to remain in the right-of-way for 

more than 24 h. (2) Sometimes vehicles remain on the shoulder of the roadway longer than 

the allowable time either because they were not detected and reported immediately by law 

enforcement personnel, or law enforcement personnel did not specifically check for the 

vehicle at the end of the allowable time period. Accurately enforcing the “time clock” 

requires vehicles to be tagged at the time of detection and shoulders to be actively patrolled 

to assure that vehicles are not left long beyond the time allowed. 

Law enforcement personnel can typically expedite removal of abandoned vehicles that are 

deemed a hazard; negative public reaction to this action and competing law enforcement 

duties may limit this practice despite the safety risk. In 2005, North Carolina completed a 5-
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 25

yr study of abandoned vehicle crash involvement and found that a total of 1,300 abandoned 

vehicles were struck, resulting in 47 fatality crashes and over 500 injuries. (43)

• Lengthy m Lengthy minor incident ncident ncident clearance learance learance. Minor incidents, the most frequently occurring type of 

incident, typically affect only the roadway shoulder, result in local traffic impacts, require 

response from a single agency or company, and require informal actions to be taken to clear 

the incident. Some minor incidents may be cleared by the party involved before a responder 

even arrives at the scene. These self-helped incidents are seldom reported to law 

enforcement agencies. 

Few direct operational challenges exist when clearing minor incidents. Instead, the factors 

challenging the quick clearance of minor incidents tend to be institutional in nature. For 

example, response to minor incidents may be low in priority relative to other competing 

duties that must be performed by law enforcement or transportation agency personnel. 

Consequently, response times to minor incidents may be lengthy, particularly in areas where 

dedicated service patrol programs are not offered. Secondly, quick clearance of minor 

incidents may be restricted by current legislation or policy that prevents an unattended or 

abandoned vehicle from being immediately removed from the roadway. Minor incidents can 

also be perceived to be major incidents if responders lack adequate training. For example, 

incidents involving hazardous materials are often classified as major incidents because they 

require response from specially trained fire or hazardous material response personnel. 

Minor petroleum, antifreeze, or other noncargo fluids spilled from the vehicle do not 

constitute a hazard; unnecessary clearance delay often results because responders 

incorrectly classify them as hazardous materials. (19) Delayed clearance of minor incidents 

increases the amount of time that response personnel are exposed to danger; the potential 

for secondary incidents; and motorist delay, associated fuel consumption, and harmful 

emissions. 

• Lengthy m Lengthy major incident ncident ncident clearance learance learance. Major incidents typically affect one or more of the travel 

lanes, result in area-wide or corridor-wide traffic impacts, require response from multiple 

agencies or companies, require a more formal response plan, may involve fatalities or 

hazardous materials, and may require investigation. Major incidents occur less frequently 

but produce more severe impacts. 

A myriad of factors may challenge the quick clearance of major incidents. Response 

personnel from multiple agencies or companies must not only perform the duties for which 

they were trained quickly and effectively, but must also coordinate these activities among all 

responders in the context of the broader incident management process. Oftentimes, this 

coordination suffers because of technical and institutional inefficiencies in communications. 

Major incidents also often require response from specially trained responders (i.e., 

responders capable of performing accident investigation or hazardous material response and 

cleanup) and specialty equipment (i.e., rotating crane, front-end loader, etc.) that may be 

slow to mobilize. In either case, a lack of consensus regarding the importance of quick 

clearance among all response agencies will exacerbate the detrimental incident impacts. 

• Liability c Liability concerns oncerns oncerns. Perhaps the most common issue that arises when attempts are made to 

speed incident clearance is the fear of liability resulting from additional damage to a vehicle 

or its cargo because of clearance actions taken. Important points to realize, however, are 

that: 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 26

o The vehicle and cargo are already damaged as a result of the incident and are already, in 

many instances, unusable. 

o Damage costs are most often covered by insurers, not the party involved. 

o Liability costs attributable to extra damage are negligible in comparison to the liability 

costs associated with an unnecessary fatality or serious injury as a result of a secondary 

incident. 

Table 5 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. 

Table 5. Quick clearance and recovery challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

QUICK CLEARANCE QUICK CLEARANCE 

AND RECOVERY AND RECOVERY 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Abandoned Vehicle 

HazardsLengthy Minor Incident ClearanceLengthy Major Incident ClearanceLiability Concerns

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Abandoned Vehicle Legislation/Policy Abandoned Vehicle Legislation/Policy  21+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, IN, NC 21+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, IN, NC 21+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, IN, NC 

Safe, Quick Clearance Laws—Driver 

Removal 

  

~25 States, inclu ~25 States, including FL, GA, MD, NC, OH, FL, GA, MD, NC, OH, 

SC, TN, TX, VA, WI SC, TN, TX, VA, WI 

Service Patrols Service Patrols  

130+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, AZ (Phoenix), 

CA, FL, GA (Atlanta), IN, MD, MN, NM 

(Albuquerque), OR, TN, UT (Salt Lake City) (Albuquerque), OR, TN, UT (Salt Lake City) 

Vehicle- Vehicle-Mounted Push Bumpers Mounted Push Bumpers Mounted Push Bumpers  

CA (Redding, Stockton), MD (Baltimore), CA (Redding, Stockton), MD (Baltimore), 

NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), OH 

(Cincinnati), TN (Chattanooga), TX (Austin), 

UT (Salt Lake City) UT (Salt Lake City) 

Incident Investigation Sites Incident Investigation Sites  16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, TX (Houston) 16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, TX (Houston) 16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, TX (Houston) 

Safe, Quick Clearance Laws—Authority 

Removal 

   

AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MO, NM, NC, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MO, NM, NC, 

OH, OR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA OH, OR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA 

Quick Clearance/Open Roads Policy Quick Clearance/Open Roads Policy  

35+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA, FL, GA, ID, 

IN, LA, MD, NV, NH, TN, UT, WA, WI IN, LA, MD, NV, NH, TN, UT, WA, WI 

Non-cargo Vehicle Fluid Discharge Policy cargo Vehicle Fluid Discharge Policy   FL, MN 

Fatality Certification/Removal Policy Fatality Certification/Removal Policy moval Policy  PA, TN, TX (Austin), WA PA, TN, TX (Austin), WA 

Expedited Crash Investigation Expedited Crash Investigation 

93+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, FL, IN, TX 

(North Central Region), UT (North Central Region), UT 

Quick Clearance Using Fire Apparatus Quick Clearance Using Fire Apparatus  TX (Austin) TX (Austin) 

Towing and Recovery Quick Clearance 

Incentives Incentives 

  FL, GA, WA FL, GA, WA 

Major Incident Response Teams Major Incident Response Teams 

DE, FL, IL (Chicago), LA, MD, NJ, OH 

(Cincinnati, Columbus), NY, TX (Dallas Co.), 

WA 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Abandoned v Abandoned vehicle legislation/ egislation/ egislation/policy. Given the similar risk for being struck by passing 

motorists, supporting legislation that does not distinguish response personnel removal 

actions for attended or unattended/abandoned vehicles is most advantageous for speeding 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 27

the clearance of minor incidents. For example, North Carolina law supports the immediate 

clearance of any abandoned vehicle on the paved roadway or shoulder on any Statemaintained roadway. In addition, through a memorandum of understanding between the 

North Carolina Department of Transportation and the City of Greensboro, Incident 

Management Assistance Patrols (IMAPs) are allowed to impound or tow any abandoned 

vehicles off the roadway shoulders using the city’s towing rotation procedures. (6)

As an alternative, States can modify existing legislation specific to unattended/abandoned 

vehicles to reduce the amount of time that motorists are allowed to leave a vehicle in its 

location. Indiana recently passed a law that reduced the amount of time that an abandoned 

vehicle is able to remain in the right-of-way from 72 h to 24 h. (6) Comparatively, the 2004 

ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 21 major metropolitan areas in the United States 

having associated State laws that limit the amount of time unattended/abandoned vehicles 

are allowed to remain within the State right-of-way to between 0 and 4 h. (2)

More information regarding supporting legislation for abandoned vehicles can be found in 

FHWA’s Traffic Incident Management Quick Clearance Laws: A National Review of Best 

Practices, accessible at http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop09005/index.htm. 

(39)

A third strategy that may not require a change in existing legislation is to expand the 

definition of “hazard” to include unattended/abandoned vehicles on the roadway shoulder or 

median. In most areas, responders can legally remove any parked vehicle that is considered 

hazardous. Because the perception of a “hazard” varies widely among responders, removal 

of unattended/abandoned vehicles on the shoulder or median may not be consistently 

performed. Agreement between law enforcement, transportation, and other response 

personnel regarding what constitutes a hazard can encourage improvements in quick 

clearance in the absence or interim of legislation change. 

Driver education can encourage motorist compliance with laws and/or policies related to 

abandoned vehicles. When a vehicle becomes disabled, motorists frequently leave their 

vehicle unattended to obtain services. In the absence of or in conjunction with legislation 

that requires motorists to remain with their vehicle, driver education efforts can encourage 

motorists to stay with their vehicles to hasten vehicle repair, accommodate towing, and 

minimize traffic impacts. With extensive use of service patrols, law enforcement patrols, 

cellular telephones, and traffic-reporting services in most major metropolitan areas, quick 

and efficient notice of incapacitated vehicles is enhanced. A significant incentive for 

motorists is that, by staying with their vehicle and receiving help from law enforcement, 

transportation, or publicly or privately sponsored service patrol programs, they may save 

money. Many motorist assistance services are free or require a nominal charge. 

• Safe, q Safe, quick clearance learance learance laws—Driver Removal. Driver Removal laws—also referred to as 

Fender Bender, Move It, or Steer It/Clear It laws—are considered key strategies for speeding 

clearance of noninjury, property-damage-only crashes, which account for the majority of all 

crashes on U.S. roadways. These laws, currently enacted in approximately half of all States, 

encourage or require drivers involved in incidents to move their vehicle out of the travel lanes 

if they can do so safely. In the case of an immobilized vehicle, Driver Removal laws 

commonly mandate that drivers immediately seek assistance to remove their vehicle from 

the travel lanes. Concurrent legislation or language that protects drivers from liability 

resulting from their actions (in the absence of gross negligence) or waives at-fault 

determination regarding the cause of the incident as a result of moving their vehicle is often 

included to encourage drivers to expeditiously move their vehicle. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 28

Driver Removal laws are becoming more important over time. As the levels of congestion 

build on U.S. roadways, transportation and law enforcement personnel meet increasing TIM 

demands, in the context of their other duties and responsibilities. Public agencies are 

challenged to function with ever-increasing constraints on personnel and resources. Driver 

Removal laws that require drivers to take response action not only enhance the safety of 

those involved and of approaching motorists, but also allow transportation and law 

enforcement personnel to focus on other duties. The effectiveness of Driver Removal laws is 

dependent upon motorist awareness of their responsibilities under this law and associated 

enforcement actions to ensure that the law functions as intended. 

Several States have developed publicity materials to raise awareness of driver 

responsibilities under Driver Removal laws (see table 6). Using an alternate approach, the 

Tennessee Department of Transportation installed more than 100 signs at key locations 

along the State’s urban freeway system with the message “Move Damaged Vehicles to 

Shoulder If No Serious Injury.” (9)

Table 6. Example of Driver Removal law publicity materials. 

Florida Florida 

Move It— Move It—Yes You Can! Yes You Can! Brochure, Billboard, and Media Kit 

http://www.metroplanorlando.com/site/partnerships/moveit.asp

Move It— Move It—It’s the Law It’s the Law Website 

http://www.fhp.state.fl.us/misc/News/Related/2006/FHPnews032006e1.htm

Maryland Maryland 

Move It— Move It—It’s the Law It’s the Law Brochure 

www.chart.state.md.us/downloads/readingroom/Move_It_Form.pdf 

Ohio 

QuickClear QuickClear Website 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/quickclear/quickclear.asp 

Texas 

Steer It...Clear It Website 

http://www.houstontranstar.org/sici.aspx 

Virginia Virginia 

Move It— Move It—It’s the Law It’s the Law Website 

http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/move_it_move_over.asp 

Wisconsin Wisconsin 

Traffic Incident Management Enhancement (TIME) Prog Traffic Incident Management Enhancement (TIME) Program Website 

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/stoc/time.htm

Hamlin et al. considered the benefits attributable to a Driver Removal law enacted in South 

Carolina. (44) Microscopic simulation analysis estimated that implementation of the related 

legislation resulted in an 11 percent reduction in delay for minor incidents with one lane 

blocked. This reduced delay, in turn, resulted in an average cost savings of $1,682 per 

incident, which is significant when considering the number of minor incidents occurring on a 

daily basis in large metropolitan areas. Besides the effect on congestion and its associated 

impacts, the authors cited benefits related to the safety of road users and incident response 

personnel. 

More information regarding Driver Removal laws, including recommendations for model 

language, can be found in FHWA’s Traffic Incident Management Quick Clearance Laws: A

National Review of Best Practices, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop09005/index.htm. 

(39) In addition, a recent 

FHWA educational outreach initiative aimed at encouraging the adoption and effective 

implementation of safe, quick clearance laws, including Driver Removal laws, is described in 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 29

Educational Outreach for Safe, Quick Clearance (SQC) Laws and Policies, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10012/tim_sqc.pdf. 

(40)

• Service Service patrols. Service patrols are universally accepted as the most effective tool for 

TIM. (26) The Federal Highway Administration is currently promoting use of full-function 

service patrols on all urban freeways on a 24/7 basis as full emergency response partners 

with law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, and towing responders, and is encouraging their 

sustainability by promoting public agency cost sharing and public/private partnerships. (45) 

One example of such a public/private partnership exists in Pennsylvania where the 

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has partnered with State Farm Insurance to provide 

service patrols along designated routes. A similar arrangement with State Farm Insurance 

exists in Atlanta, GA. 

Service patrols are popular in urban areas across the United States largely because of the 

flexibility in services offered, hours of operation, cost, and other considerations. Service 

patrols can be publicly operated by transportation or police departments or privately 

operated; can operate 24 h a day or only in the peak period; and may rove highway corridors 

or be stationed at fixed points such as at tunnel entrances, bridge approaches, or elevated 

roadway sections. Service patrol vehicles commonly include vans or small pickups, but also 

include heavy-duty large trucks. An estimated 130 distinct service patrol programs operate 

along U.S. freeways. (46)

Examples of service patrol programs across the Nation include the following: 

o The Arizona Local Emergency Response Team (ALERT), operated by the Arizona 

Department of Transportation, provides TIM on freeways in the Phoenix, AZ, metropolitan 

area, while the Maricopa County Regional Emergency Action Coordinating Team (REACT) 

provides TIM on arterial roadways. 

o Both California and Florida operate extensive, statewide service patrol programs. In 

California, the Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) program is funded through combined State 

and local funds, with local funds originating from a $1 annual vehicle registration fee in 

participating counties. In Florida, Road Rangers operate in each of the seven Florida 

Department of Transportation districts and along the turnpike to facilitate quick incident 

clearance. 

o In Atlanta, GA, the Highway Emergency Response Operators (HERO) program is jointly 

supported through Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds and 

private sponsorship by State Farm Insurance. 

o As part of the broader Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART) program, 

the Maryland State Highway Administration operates an Emergency Traffic Patrol (ETP) 

program to provide emergency motorist assistance and relocate disabled vehicles out of 

travel lanes. 

o In Minnesota, the Freeway Incident Response Safety Team (FIRST) has expanded over 

time to now include 11 routes and 220 mi of metropolitan area freeways. 

o In Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Transportation initiated the HELP program 

in 1999 in Knoxville and Nashville. Since that time, the program has expanded to 

Chattanooga and Memphis and covers more than 180 mi of highways in the four 

cities. (9)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 30

Benefit-to-cost ratios for service patrol programs are variable, reflective of the range of 

reported operating conditions among programs. Consistently, however, the program benefits 

significantly outweigh the costs. Early benefit-to-cost ratios, reported between 1990 and 

1996, range from 2:1 to 36.4:1. (47) More recent benefit-to-cost ratios range from 4.6:1 to 

42:1, with a median benefit-to-cost ratio of 9.99:1 and an average benefit-to-cost ratio of 

13.3:1. (46) Service patrol benefits most commonly include reductions in overall incident 

duration, secondary incidents, and delay, including associated fuel consumption and harmful 

emissions, attributable to their role in responding to and clearing minor incidents and 

providing scene protection during major incidents. 

As a result of service patrols, overall incident duration has reportedly been reduced by: 

o 28.6 percent in Maryland. (48)

o 12 to 36 percent in Salt Lake City, UT. (49)

o 8 min for disabled vehicles in Minneapolis, MN. (50)

Oregon reported a reduction in incident duration of 15 to 30 percent as a result of expanding 

its freeway service patrol program from part-time to full-time operations. (51) During the first 

year of operations at the “Big I” work zone in Albuquerque, NM, the use of on-site service 

patrols reduced the average incident response time to less than 8 min. (52)

Once on-scene, service patrol operators can quickly verify the incident, provide scene 

protection, request additional response that may be required, and establish traffic control as 

necessary, easing access to the scene for subsequent responders and enhancing on-scene 

safety: 

o Atlanta, GA, reported a 69 percent reduction in secondary incidents and a related annual 

cost savings of $1,611,054. (53)

o Maryland reported a 28.6 percent reduction in average incident duration, leading to an 

estimated 377 fewer secondary incidents. (48)

o Northwest Indiana reported an annual cost savings of $618,200 attributable to a 

reduction in secondary incidents. (54)

Reported benefits related to delay, including associated fuel consumption and harmful 

emissions, are also substantial: 

o Atlanta, GA, reported saving 7.25 million vehicle-hours of delay over 1 yr with an annual 

cost savings of $152,053,180. An associated reduction in gasoline consumption of 

5.17 million gallons and a reduction in diesel consumption of 1.66 million gallons was 

estimated to save an additional $10,365,969 annually. Harmful-emission reductions of 

2,457 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), 186 tons of hydrocarbons (HC), and 186 tons of 

nitrous oxide (NOx), with related annual cost savings of $1,247,985, $15,626,587, and 

$3,368,436, respectively, were also reported. (53)

o Florida reported eliminating over 1 million vehicle-hours of delay with an associated fuel 

savings of 1.7 million gallons of fuel. (55)

o Maryland reported reduced delay of approximately 30 million vehicle-hours with an 

associated 5-million-gal reduction in consumed fuel. 

(48)

o Minneapolis, MN, reported an annual cost savings of $1.4 million attributable to service 

patrols. (50)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 31

o Northwest Indiana reported an annual cost savings of $1,241,300 and $78,300 

attributable to delay and fuel consumption reductions, respectively. (54)

Customer satisfaction with service patrol programs is high. Of motorists surveyed, 99, 95, 

and 97 percent rated the service patrol program as “excellent” in Tennessee, Atlanta, GA, 

and Minneapolis, MN, respectively. (8,52,49)

High levels of satisfaction have also been reported by law enforcement agencies. In 2001, 

the Tennessee Department of Transportation surveyed officers who had firsthand 

experiences with the HELP service patrol program. Of the 121 officers who responded to the 

survey, 70 percent rated the overall HELP program as “excellent,” and 25 percent rated the 

program as “good.” Seventy percent of the officers also reported that they felt safer when a 

HELP vehicle is present at an incident scene and estimated that the HELP program has 

reduced the time required to investigate crashes by an average of 31 percent. (9)

Service patrols can support quick clearance of minor incidents or disablements by directly 

relocating the vehicle (i.e., using push bumpers or tow straps/chains) from the travel lane or 

shoulder to a safe refuge, eliminating the delay caused when a tow truck is needed. If a 

vehicle is simply disabled, service patrol operators may also provide gasoline, water, or minor 

mechanical repair services to quickly remedy the problem. During major incidents, service 

patrols provide an important traffic control and scene protection function (i.e., warning and 

guiding approaching motorists past the incident) that allows emergency and other response 

personnel to quickly access the scene, focus on performing duties for which they are 

specially trained without the distraction or concern for traffic control, and rapidly exit the 

scene to ensure speedy transport of victims to a medical center or to expedite the opening of 

blocked lanes. 

Additional information regarding the development, implementation, and operation of 

effective safety service patrols can be found in FHWA’s Service Patrol Handbook, accessible 

at http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08031/ffsp_handbook.pdf. 

(56)

• Vehicle- Vehicle-mounted push bumpers. Push bumpers, mounted on response vehicles, are used to 

quickly and safely remove disabled vehicles from the shoulder or travel lanes, reducing the 

likelihood of secondary incidents and improving the safety of both response personnel and 

motorists. Push bumpers are commonly mounted on law enforcement and transportation 

agency vehicles, particularly those used in a service patrol capacity. Vehicles equipped with 

push bumpers are used to relocate vehicles out of immediate danger; towing and recovery 

vehicles are used to transport the vehicle longer distances as required. 

Vehicle-mounted push bumpers are widely used to support TIM operations across the Nation. 

Of the participants in this investigation, vehicle-mounted push bumpers are reported to be in 

use in Redding, CA, Stockton, CA, Baltimore, MD, the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey 

and Pennsylvania, Cincinnati, OH, Chattanooga, TN, Austin, TX, and Salt Lake City, UT. 

• Incident i Incident investigation nvestigation nvestigation sites. Results of the 2004 ITS Deployment Survey indicated that 16 

participating metropolitan areas in 12 States utilize incident investigation sites to support 

TIM operations. (2) Incident investigation sites provide a safe refuge off the main roadway 

where further investigation or documentation can take place. Sites should be easily 

accessible from the main roadway, yet sufficiently out of sight to prevent motorist delay 

caused by rubbernecking. In addition, sites should be adequately signed, be lit, and provide 

enough space to accommodate multiple vehicles or a large truck. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 32

In Houston, TX, a brief public service awareness video describing the State’s Steer It, Clear It

law directs motorists to relocate their vehicle—if it can be normally and safely driven—to a 

designated incident investigation site or other safe location to minimize interference with 

existing freeway traffic. The video is available for viewing at the Houston TranStar website, 

accessible at http://www.houstontranstar.org/sici.aspx. 

(57)

• Safe, q Safe, quick clearance learance learance laws—Authority Removal. Authority Removal laws provide 

authorization to a predesignated set of public agencies—generally including State, county, 

and local law enforcement or State departments of transportation—to remove damaged or 

disabled vehicles and/or spilled cargo determined to be a hazard from the roadway. Driver 

and authority removal responsibilities may be defined within the same statute: if the driver is 

unwilling or unable to remove the vehicle or cargo, designated authorities may require or 

perform removal without the consent of the owner. Authority Removal laws may also include 

immediate tow-away policies to ensure the timely removal of disabled vehicles from roadway 

shoulders in highly congested, metropolitan areas. More commonly, separate Authority Tow

laws are in place to support removal of incident-involved vehicles and/or cargo on the 

shoulder or roadway right-of-way to an off-site location (e.g., storage area, service station). 

Large-truck incidents can add a unique challenge to the clearance process. Often, cargo 

transported by truck is spilled across the roadway, requiring not only the righting and clearing 

of the involved vehicle but also the cleanup of associated cargo. If the cargo is hazardous, 

response from specially trained spill response personnel is required. In addition, certain 

types of nonhazardous cargo—such as agriculture or livestock, or certain other perishable 

products such as food—may require certification from the Department of Agriculture or 

Health Department to confirm that the load was damaged and is unusable. Personnel from 

these agencies are not common TIM participants and as such may be slow to arrive at the 

scene. Supporting legislation or language that allows for the rapid relocation of 

nonhazardous cargo out of the roadway prior to their arrival supports quick clearance ideals 

designed to enhance public and responder safety and reduce delay. 

Further, the effectiveness of Authority Removal laws may be compromised if response 

personnel are reluctant to exercise their full authority under this law. Often, liability concerns 

are raised by responding agency personnel when they clear an incident because of additional 

damage the vehicle or cargo may incur during clearance procedures, even though the 

resulting additional vehicle damage is often minimal and covered by the causing party’s 

insurer. Concurrent “hold harmless” legislation or language that protects responders from 

liability resulting from their actions (in the absence of gross negligence) is often included with 

Authority Removal laws to encourage responders to expeditiously move damaged or disabled 

vehicles and/or spilled cargo from the roadway. The same predesignated agencies 

authorized to remove damaged or disabled vehicles and/or spilled cargo from the roadway, 

as well as any qualified responder working under the direction of these agencies, are 

generally protected under these provisions. 

Approximately half of all States have enacted Authority Removal laws, and approximately half 

of all States that have Authority Removal laws have concurrent hold harmless provisions. 

For example, Indiana recently passed a law that includes hold harmless language allowing 

enforcement personnel to safely and quickly remove vehicles or debris from the roadway and 

reopen the impacted traffic lanes. (6) Select States (Texas and Virginia) also include hold 

harmless clauses that protect against liability for responder actions not taken; authorities are 

not held responsible for any damages or claims that may result from the failure to exercise 

any authority granted, provided they are acting in good faith. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 33

More information regarding Authority Removal laws and associated hold harmless language, 

including recommendations for model language, can be found in FHWA’s Traffic Incident 

Management Quick Clearance Laws: A National Review of Best Practices, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop09005/index.htm. 

(39) In addition, a recent 

FHWA educational outreach initiative aimed at encouraging the adoption and effective 

implementation of safe, quick clearance laws, including Authority Removal laws, is described 

in Educational Outreach for Safe, Quick Clearance (SQC) Laws and Policies, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10012/tim_sqc.pdf. 

(40)

• Quick c Quick clearance learance learance/open roadspolicy. A key agreement supporting TIM efforts is a quick 

clearance or “open roads” policy that binds agencies to quick clearance consensus by setting 

implied or explicit goals for clearing traffic incidents from the roadway. Depending on how it 

is drafted, quick clearance policies can help to speed the clearance of both minor and major 

incidents, subsequently enhancing responder and public safety and reducing delay. 

In 2004, the ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 35 major metropolitan areas in the 

United States having associated policies and procedures facilitating the quick removal of 

heavily damaged vehicles and nonhazardous cargoes. (2) For example, member agencies 

participating in Indiana’s Traffic Incident Management Effort (IN-TIME) are required to sign a 

multilateral working agreement that establishes an “Open Roads Philosophy” to work 

together to “accomplish improved safety, clearance and communication during traffic 

incidents and/or obstructions on all public roadways in the State of Indiana.” Through a 

partnership between the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Indiana Law 

Enforcement Academy, an accompanying IN-TIME video was produced introducing TIM 

initiatives in Indiana and showing support for quick clearance. The video features an 

introduction by the Indiana State Police superintendent and can be viewed at the IN-TIME 

website, accessible at http://www.indianaquickclearance.org/. 

(58)

Other examples of quick clearance policies from across the Nation include the following: 

o Florida’s Open Roads Policy. Local open roads policies are signed by all agencies as an 

addendum to the statewide Open Roads Policy. 

o Georgia’s Open Roads Policy. 

o Maryland’s Removal of Vehicles from Roadway Interagency Agreement. 

o New Hampshire’s Quick Clearance for Safety and Mobility Interagency Memorandum of 

Understanding. 

o Tennessee’s Urgent Clearance of Highway Incidents and Safety at Incident Scenes 

Interagency Memorandum of Understanding. 

o Wisconsin’s Interagency Freeway Incident Clearance Policy Statement. 

Louisiana passed the first-ever open roads law in the Nation that mandates keeping roads 

open whenever possible, requires TIM training for all law enforcement officers, establishes 

improved towing procedures, and requires open roads agreements between key agencies. (6)

The inclusion of explicit performance goals in quick clearance policies helps to ensure 

continued focus on quick clearance and improvement in operations. The most frequently 

used performance metric for TIM programs is average or maximum incident clearance time, 

defined as the time between the first recordable awareness and the time at which the last 

responder has left the scene. (59) California, Washington, and Florida have statewide 90-min 

incident clearance targets. Utah’s performance goals are based on incident severity: 20 min 

for fender benders, 60 min for injury crashes, and 90 min for fatalities. Idaho and Nevada 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 34

take a similar approach, with a 30-, 60-, or 120-min maximum clearance time, based on 

incident severity. (59)

The effectiveness of quick clearance policies depends upon the perceived attainability of and 

focus placed on local clearance time goals and the extent of commitment among TIM 

agencies in pursuing these goals. The I-95 Corridor Coalition’s Traffic Incident Management 

Teams Best Practices Report includes a comprehensive checklist in appendix D for drafting 

and implementing an effective quick clearance policy. 

(6)

• Non-cargovehicle fluid discharge ischarge ischarge policy. While some materials pose a danger in any 

quantity, hazardous materials response procedures are frequently invoked when 

nonhazardous, non-cargo vehicle fluids are discharged during a minor incident, 

unnecessarily extending the clearance duration. Spilled vehicle fluids, including crank-case 

engine oil, diesel fuel, transmission or hydraulic fluids, etc., are generally not considered 

hazardous wastes. 

Some States have adopted procedures or policies that exempt non-cargo vehicle fluid spills 

from hazardous materials response procedures, providing the spill has been contained on 

the pavement. In direct support of their Open Roads Policy, Florida developed Guidelines for 

the Mitigation of Accidental Discharges of Motor Vehicle Fluids (Non-cargo) to encourage the 

mitigation of such spills and speed the clearance of minor incidents. (60) Under these 

guidelines, the Florida Department of Transportation and other incident response personnel 

may apply absorbents and sweep off travel lanes regardless of spill quantity. The absorbent 

materials are moved out of the travel lanes and stored at the roadside, or are containerized 

and placed in the damaged vehicle(s) for removal by the towing company. It is not necessary 

to await a licensed clean-up contractor. 

Similarly, authority is defined in Minnesota’s Traffic Incident Management Recommended 

Operational Guidelines. (61) Under these guidelines, Minnesota Department of Transportation 

personnel are allowed to help contain and clean up non-cargo vehicle fluid spills using 

absorbent products but must obtain annual “right-to-know” training regarding these 

materials. The effectiveness of non-cargo vehicle fluid discharge mitigation policies in 

enhancing the quick clearance of minor incidents was not found to be distinctly reported. 

Instead, the benefits of such a policy are often combined and reported jointly with benefits 

attributable to broader quick clearance policies and/or reported only for major incidents. 

The effectiveness of non-cargo vehicle fluid discharge mitigation policies can be 

compromised if there is a lack of awareness among response personnel and/or reluctance to 

exercise their full authority under this policy. 

• Fatality c Fatality certification/ ertification/ ertification/removal policy. When responding to fatality traffic incidents, it is 

important to balance the need for thorough investigations into the cause of death, with the 

need to minimize responder exposure to danger, minimize risk of secondary incidents 

involving the motoring public, respect the dignity and privacy of the decedent and the 

decedent’s family, and restore the flow of traffic.

In many cases, local policy or State law requires that death be certified by a coroner or 

medical examiner and that the victim not be moved until the coroner has done so. The result 

may be significant delays to traffic while the arrival of a coroner is awaited; because the 

coroner is not facing a life or death situation, he or she may not feel an urgent need to 

respond. In addition, the number of coroners available is generally limited in comparison to 

their geographic area of coverage. Alternative policies include allowing a designated EMS 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 35

unit to certify death. Accordingly, EMS units are typically among the first to arrive at an 

incident that may involve an injury or a fatality. Vital signs of fatalities can be telemetrically 

relayed to an off-site coroner for verification, eliminating the need for the coroner to travel to 

the site. Once death is certified, fatalities can be relocated to a better, safer refuge in the 

interest of public safety. 

In select States (Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas), Fatality Certification laws permit the 

removal of the victim before the arrival of the coroner when the incident poses a safety 

hazard. To expedite clearing the roadway and to prevent additional incidents, law 

enforcement marks the locations and removes the victims immediately, without waiting for 

the arrival of the coroner. 

In the absence of or in addition to such legislation, interagency agreements can explicitly 

define or detail responder operations during fatality incidents. In Texas, for example, the 

Austin Police Department (APD), Austin Fire Department (AFD), Austin-Travis County EMS, 

and Travis County Office of the Medical Examiner (TCME) recently developed an agreement 

that outlines mutual operating procedures to expedite the removal of deceased persons from 

the scene of an incident when the incident restricts the free movement of traffic on the State 

and National Highway Systems. The agreement also addresses operating procedures related 

to the dispatch of and communications with TCME investigative personnel, the expedited 

transport of deceased persons, the relocation/removal of deceased persons in the absence 

of TCME investigative personnel, and the maintenance/capture of evidentiary information. 

Similar agreements are in place between the Washington State Patrol (WSP), WSDOT, and 

various county medical examiners throughout the State. Incident management personnel in 

Bellevue, WA, specifically noted the clearance benefits attributable to the removal of a 

significantly damaged vehicle with the entrapped decedent in the vehicle. 

• Expedited c Expedited crash investigation nvestigation nvestigation. Traditional methods of collecting physical evidence at an 

incident scene (i.e., the base-tape method, coordinate method, or triangulation method) can 

be time consuming and personnel intensive, resulting in unnecessary delay to the motoring 

public and responder risk. Total station surveying equipment (TSSE)—that electronically 

measures and records the locations of evidentiary items using horizontal distance, horizontal 

angle, and vertical rise captured simultaneously—was first introduced as a means to speed 

crash investigation. 

While TSSE is still widely used to support TIM operations, photogrammetry is emerging as a 

preferred alternative: 

o In a laudable public-public partnership, the Florida Department of Transportation recently 

procured photogrammetry systems for the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) statewide. FHP is 

training two sets of troopers in the photography and software aspects of the systems, 

respectively, with the goal of converting to a complete photogrammetry-based 

investigatory process by the end of 2010. (6)

o Similarly, the Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Revenue, 

Federal Highway Administration, and Indiana Toll Road have cooperatively funded 23 

complete photogrammetry systems. Indiana currently has 22 officers and 6 trainers in 

the State trained in photogrammetry with an average scene-measuring time of 42 min. (6)

o In a unique application, the Utah Highway Patrol uses aerial photogrammetry to take 

crash scene photos with a camera mounted on a low-flying, remote-controlled 

helicopter. (6)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 36

Photogrammetry captures the necessary data through the process of analyzing and 

interpreting photos taken at the incident scene. For either system, data captured in the field 

can be further analyzed off-site using specialized software, reducing the length of time the 

roadway or lanes need to be closed. Photogrammetry systems have been credited with 

significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to perform incident investigation while 

increasing the number of measurements able to be captured. 

To support and encourage the use of photogrammetry, the North Central Texas Council of 

Governments (NCTCOG) offers a photogrammetry training course as a complement to the 

region’s Freeway Incident Management series. Two course tracks are offered twice per year 

to regional law enforcement agencies. Basic training is 5 d in duration and includes a 3-d 

iWitnessTM workshop and a 2-d crash zone workshop. Advanced photogrammetry training is 

offered over 2 d to students who complete the basic training. Additional information 

regarding NCTCOG’s photogrammetry training is available through their website, accessible 

at http://www.nctcog.org/trans/safety/PhotogramTrng.asp. 

(62)

In 2007, the ITS Deployment Survey reported at least 93 major metropolitan areas in the 

United States using these technology-based strategies to expedite crash investigation 

procedures at major incidents. (2)

In the absence of technology-based tools, alternative means of marking evidence (i.e., using 

paint to mark the evidence, including vehicle positions and locations, and a camera to 

photograph the incident scene) can be used. Once marked and recorded, the incident scene 

can be cleared. Law enforcement personnel can later return to the incident scene at a time 

when traffic volumes are low, close the necessary portion of the roadway, and collect the 

information required as part of the crash investigation. The use of alternative means of 

marking evidence is also encouraged as a means to speed incident clearance prior to the 

arrival of technology-based incident investigation tools on-scene. 

• Quick c Quick clearance learance learance using fire apparatus. pparatus. pparatus. Adopting a unique and progressive approach to quick 

clearance in Austin, TX, the Austin Fire Department recently issued a Special Order that 

allows AFD personnel to use their on-scene fire apparatus to assist in clearing the roadways. 

Utilizing tow straps provided by on-scene law enforcement officers, AFD may pull a disabled 

or blocking vehicle out of the travel lane to the side of the road. Fire and rescue personnel 

are authorized to act only at the request of a law enforcement officer. 

During minor incidents, this capability is thought to be particularly beneficial when only law 

enforcement motorcycle units with limited vehicle removal abilities are available on-scene. 

To make full use of this new operating procedure, local law enforcement agencies are 

considering equipping all motorcycle units with tow straps. During major incidents, the larger 

size and towing capacity of the fire apparatus compared to on-scene law enforcement 

cruisers may prove beneficial in quickly removing larger vehicles involved in the incident from 

the travel lane. Although benefits attributable to this change in operation have not yet been 

quantified given its recent implementation, it is anticipated to be highly effective in 

enhancing the quick clearance of incidents since fire and rescue and law enforcement 

personnel are typically the first responders to the scene. 

• Towing and r Towing and recovery ecovery ecovery quick clearance learance learance incentives ncentives ncentives. A combination of financial incentives for 

quick clearance and pricing disincentives for slow performance has proven to successfully 

improve tower performance and reduce clearance times. For example, in 2004, the Florida 

Turnpike Enterprise implemented the Nation’s first Roadway Incident Scene Clearance (RISC) 

program in an effort to meet Florida’s open roads policy of clearing incidents from roadways 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 37

in 90 min or less. Under this program, contract towing and recovery operators are required 

to respond to major incidents with two certified heavy-duty wreckers and a support vehicle 

carrying cleanup and traffic control equipment. Contractors earn a $2,500 bonus if they 

respond to the incident site within 60 min and clear the roadway to traffic within 90 min of 

the Florida Highway Patrol’s notice to proceed. If the contractor fails to open the roadway 

within 3 h, the contractor is penalized $10 for each minute over. In the first 9 months of 

operation, the average time to respond to an incident was 41 min (well under the required 

response time of 60 min), and the average clearance time was 55 min (well under the 

required 90 min to receive bonus incentives). (63)

Georgia and Washington recently initiated similar programs (the Towing and Recovery 

Incentive Program [TRIP] and the Blockage Buster Tow Incentive program, respectively) 

aimed at clearing commercial and other vehicle incidents within 90 min. In Georgia, average 

incident duration decreased from 314 min in 2007 to 131 min in 2008. (64) 

All three programs include explicit equipment, training, and performance requirements for 

participating towing and recovery companies. 

• Major i Major incident ncident ncident response esponse esponse teams. In a national survey conducted as part of the NCHRP 

Synthesis of Highway Practice 318: Safe and Quick Clearance of Traffic Incidents, 15 

agencies across 9 States reported participating in a major incident response team. (18)

Major incident response teams are typically comprised of high-ranking individuals from a 

variety of disciplines (e.g., law enforcement, fire and rescue, and transportation) who train for 

and respond to major incidents together and who are available 24/7. Major incident 

response teams not only improve response to an incident scene but also enhance personnel 

interaction at the scene and support quick incident clearance. Quick clearance efforts 

benefit from the high level of familiarity among the various team members and their authority 

to mobilize the necessary personnel and equipment to respond. 

With the advent of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in March 2004, major 

incident response teams now have a formalized framework for effective operation. Relying 

upon ICS principles, NIMS enables responders at all levels from various agencies and 

jurisdictions to work together more effectively and efficiently to manage major incidents. 

NIMS also promotes proven incident management practices, standardized personnel training 

and certification, communications interoperability, ongoing performance evaluation, and 

more to enhance overall TIM operations. 

Providing a recent example, the New York State Police (NYSP) created a dedicated TIM Detail 

in 2008 to speed the clearance of major traffic crashes, reduce congestion and secondary 

collisions, provide more targeted enforcement in crash-prone areas, and fulfill the mandates 

of New York’s Work Zone Safety Act of 2005. Approximately 100 TIM troopers are deployed 

statewide. Detail supervisors work with local law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, towing 

and recovery, and other TIM responders to improve the coordination of emergency responses 

and apply NIMS concepts to the traffic environment. The NYSP TIM Detail strives to achieve 

the three objectives set out in NTIMC’s NUG: responder safety; safe, quick clearance; and 

prompt, reliable, interoperable communications. This dedicated-team approach is intended 

not only to improve the safety of the broader roadway system year-round but also to increase 

safety in New York’s highway work zones. (65)

Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 39

CROSS-CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES CUTTING CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES 

Efforts to develop or improve TIM are often challenged by issues of an institutional rather than 

operational nature. Common impediments frequently relate to: 

• Agency relations. 

• Training. 

• Communications. 

• Technology. 

• Performance measurement. 

• Program resources and funding. 

Institutional challenges are more difficult than operational challenges to characterize and address. 

Consequently, the effectiveness of various tools and strategies designed to overcome the most 

common impediments and improve overall TIM efforts is difficult to accurately determine. 

The remainder of this chapter describes common institutional challenges and potential strategies for 

improvement for each of the six areas identified above. Whenever possible, the reader is directed to 

example applications, reported either in the published and electronic information sources or by 

participating TIM practitioners, to support additional information gathering regarding a particular tool 

or strategy of interest. 

Agency Relations Agency Relations 

Strong agency relations are a basic underlying principle of effective TIM. Key relationships should 

exist among transportation, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and EMS agencies and the towing and 

recovery industry. Additional partners that should not be overlooked include the trucking industry, 

traffic control industry, insurance industry, and emergency management agencies. (66)

Common challenges to effective agency relations include the following: 

• Different a Different agency priorities and riorities and riorities and cultures. ultures. ultures. Although each TIM responder performs a valuable 

function at the scene of an incident, differing priorities and agency cultures often complicate 

and may delay the TIM process. For example, lengthy law enforcement investigation duties 

sometimes conflict with the objective of quickly restoring traffic flow under a multidisciplinary 

TIM approach. Fire and rescue personnel, with the intent of protecting the incident scene, 

may use fire equipment that can unnecessarily block traffic lanes and may not respond 

individually to requests from other response agencies unless their commanding officer 

directs them to do so. Transportation agencies are rarely connected directly to public safety 

emergency communications and dispatch systems, and not all operate 24 h a day, resulting 

in sometimes lengthy after-hours response. Compared to other TIM participants, towing and 

recovery service providers are unique because they are not public agencies; they must 

remain profitable to retain a skilled work force and purchase and maintain expensive and 

complex equipment. (66) Understanding these differences in priorities and operating 

protocols helps each participant appreciate another’s expertise and helps agencies 

coordinate overall incident management efforts more effectively. 

• Informal TIM Informal TIMoperations perations perations. TIM efforts, as stand-alone activities, may be beneficial but are 

vulnerable to administrative personnel changes and annual budgetary fluctuations. 

Institutionalizing TIM efforts into formalized TIM programs can help to encourage 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 40

sustainability. Sustainable TIM programs may require legislative or administrative 

authorization, strategic missions and goals, written operational policies, and formal 

organizational structure. The latter can include trained and dedicated staff, assigned 

responsibilities, defined reporting channels, and steady dedicated funding. Most TIM 

programs at the State and regional levels have some of these institutional support elements 

in place, but none seem to have them all. (67)

Table 7 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—including

a viable career path for TIM—are included in appendix C. 

Table 7. Agency relations challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

AGENCY RELATIONS AGENCY RELATIONS 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Different Priorities/

CulturesInformal TIM Operations

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Routine, Periodic “ Routine, Periodic “TIM Team TIM Team TIM Team” Meetings Meetings Meetings 

GA (Atlanta), MI (Detroit), NJ/PA (Delaware Valley 

Region), TX (Austin), WA, WI Region), TX (Austin), WA, WI 

Joint Agency/Jurisdictional Protocols Joint Agency/Jurisdictional Protocols  FL (Southeast), WA FL (Southeast), WA 

Joint Traffic/Emergency Management 

Center 

 

FL, GA (Atlanta), IL (Chicago), NY (Hudson Valley 

Region, New York), RI, TX (Austin), UT (Salt Lake C Region, New York), RI, TX (Austin), UT (Salt Lake City) ), RI, TX (Austin), UT (Salt Lake City) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Routine, p Routine, periodic eriodic eriodic “TIM team” meetings. eetings. eetings. To encourage ongoing dialogue among TIM 

responders, monthly or quarterly meetings may be held to bring forward and discuss TIM 

challenges, procedures, and resource needs related to operations or safety. These meetings 

are commonly organized and facilitated by a champion within one of the participating 

agencies but may also be arranged through an external contractor. Successful meetings 

include regular participants from law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, transportation, 

towing and recovery, and other agencies. Often, participating TIM responders are formalized 

into a “TIM team” to encourage individual commitment to TIM efforts and help ensure that all 

response agency and partner perspectives are represented in discussions. 

For example, in the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the DVRPC 

facilitated development of five corridor-focused TIM task forces that meet on a quarterly 

basis. Task force members include State and local law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, 

transportation (including operations, maintenance, and project management divisions), 

towing and recovery, communications, and environmental protection agencies. In New 

Jersey, four subcommittees—focused on policy and procedures, response boxes, training, 

and feedback—meet as necessary outside of the quarterly meetings. The DVRPC staff 

provides administrative support for each of the task forces and facilitates agency 

coordination. As an “outside” agency that does not respond directly to incidents, DVRPC is 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 41

effective in promoting and organizing TIM activities among responders but cannot exercise 

authority over State or local transportation or public safety agencies. 

Other examples of active TIM teams include the following: 

o The Austin-Area Incident Management for Highways (AIMHigh) Team in Austin, TX—

including representatives from Federal, State, and local transportation agencies; State 

and local law enforcement agencies; fire and rescue agencies; EMS; the local towing 

association; local watershed protection agencies; and the regional metropolitan planning 

organization (MPO)—meet bimonthly to discuss TIM challenges, accomplishments, and 

resource needs. Meetings are facilitated by an outside contractor. 

o The TIME Task Force, Inc., in metropolitan Atlanta, GA, is comprised largely of 

representatives from State and local transportation agencies, State and local law 

enforcement agencies, fire and rescue agencies, EMS, and towing and recovery interests. 

Members generally meet quarterly and have recently begun to host an annual 

conference. Like the TIM teams in the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and 

Pennsylvania, the TIME Task Force, Inc., supports four subcommittees focused on 

operations, programs, training, and communications. Additional information is available 

at the Metro Atlanta TIME Task Force, Inc., website, accessible at 

http://timetaskforce.com/index.html. 

(68)

o In Detroit, MI, the Incident Management Coordinating Committee (IMCC) began in 1992 

as an ad-hoc advisory group made up of public agencies and private interests with the 

purpose of improving response to traffic incidents. Since its inception, the IMCC has 

facilitated major TIM improvements including the development of a combined Michigan 

Department of Transportation/State Police TMC, the expansion of CCTV camera and DMS 

coverage on the metropolitan freeways, the establishment of the Freeway Courtesy 

Patrol, and legislative changes that reduced the time that abandoned vehicles were 

allowed to remain on the freeway right-of-way from 48 to 18 h. (69) The IMCC includes 

subcommittees focused on freeway operations, planning, and short-term initiatives. 

Meetings are generally monthly and are facilitated by an outside contractor. 

o In 2008, Washington’s TIM Coalition (WaTIMCo) hosted the inaugural Washington State 

TIM Conference, intended to serve as the first formal WaTIMCo meeting, provide a forum 

for discussing NTIMC’s NUG and how best to implement associated best practices in the 

State, and provide an opportunity to strengthen existing transportation–public safety 

partnerships. The conference received endorsements from the Washington State 

Department of Transportation, Washington State Patrol, Washington State Fire Fighters’ 

Association, American Automobile Association, and governor. Additional information is 

available through the WaTIMCo website, accessible at 

http://www.watimcoalition.org/. 

(70)

o Wisconsin’s statewide TIME team includes representatives from Federal, State, and local 

transportation agencies; State and local law enforcement agencies; fire and rescue 

agencies; EMS; the State towing association; the State motor carrier association; and 

various media outlets. A complete list of members is available at Wisconsin’s TIME 

program website, accessible at http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/stoc/timepartners.htm. 

(71)

The effectiveness of TIM teams and associated TIM meetings is dependent upon the meeting 

frequency, participation, and content. In addition, members must feel that they have the 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 42

ability and/or authority to make change. Targeting fire and rescue agencies, Sullivan 

recently promoted the benefits of TIM teams and associated TIM meetings as a means to 

“preplan, train and coordinate the resources of a number of different agencies” and “develop 

a better understanding of the resources, staffing, response times and protocols for the other 

responders.” (72) Participation in such forums was encouraged to ensure that unique fire and 

rescue operational needs—such as access to water supplies, emergency turnarounds, pulloffs/exits, and any detours that can affect emergency response times—are considered. 

• Joint a Joint agency/jurisdictional urisdictional urisdictional protocols. rotocols. rotocols. On a more formal basis, agencies or jurisdictions can 

develop joint operating protocols intended to recognize the shared responsibility for roadway 

safety between public safety and transportation agencies. 

For example, the Washington State Patrol and Department of Transportation signed the first 

Joint Operations Policy Statement (JOPS) in the Nation to better coordinate efforts to clear 

traffic incidents. In addition to describing how each of the various TIM program components 

function under a multi-agency agreement, this document formalized the 90-min clearance 

goal for major traffic incidents that was initiated in 1997. The agreement, currently under 

revision and scheduled to be released in 2010, also addresses broader issues related to 

data sharing, communication, enforcement, work zone safety, commercial vehicle 

operations, safety rest areas, and more. (73)

In southeast Florida, a similar JOP, developed between the public safety community and the 

Florida Department of Transportation, is intended to identify existing related policies and to 

create a common guideline for effective TIM. 

• Joint t Joint traffic/ raffic/ raffic/emergency mergency mergency management anagement anagement center. TMCs can be staffed by a single agency or 

multiple agencies. Facilities that house multiple agencies, including associated dispatch 

centers, under a single roof have the potential to enhance agency relations, as well as 

reduce overall facility development and operating costs (i.e., costs are shared across multiple 

agencies). Effective joint TMCs require a high level of information sharing and cooperation 

from all agency participants. 

One example of a joint traffic/emergency management center is Chicago’s Office of 

Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC). Housed within a single building, the 

OEMC is comprised of four distinct but coordinated centers: 

o The Operations Center, staffed by personnel from local law enforcement, fire and rescue, 

and transportation agencies tasked with managing traffic. 

o The Joint Operations Center to support large-scale emergency management. 

o The City Incident Center, responsible for reactive roadway maintenance (i.e., snow 

removal, broken water main/downed power wire repairs). 

o The centralized 9-1-1/Dispatch Center for local police, fire and rescue, and EMS 

agencies. 

Together, they form an integrated unit that directs all of Chicago’s resources during local 

emergencies or large-scale catastrophes that require participation from State and Federal 

agencies. For first responders, the result is more accurate and timely direction in the field, 

better preparation for receiving casualties at the city’s trauma centers, and enhanced safety 

and backup. (74)

Similarly, the Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center (CTECC) in 

Austin, TX, brings several State, county, and municipal government agencies together in a 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 43

single facility to share command-and-control resources in the area and strengthen the area's 

emergency communications and traffic management. Located at the CTECC facility are the 

City of Austin’s 9-1-1 dispatch, police department, fire department, and EMS; Travis County’s 

9-1-1 dispatch and sheriff’s department; the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

(the local transit system); and the Texas Department of Transportation. 

Several additional examples of joint traffic/emergency management centers exist across the 

Nation: 

o Throughout Florida, several of the TMCs operated by the Florida Department of 

Transportation are entirely or partially co-located with their counterpart State law 

enforcement dispatch centers, and sometimes in the Florida Highway Patrol District 

Headquarters. (6)

o To facilitate communications during large-scale incidents and emergencies impacting the 

highway network, the primary TMC in Atlanta, GA, is located in close proximity to the 

Georgia Emergency Management Agency’s (GEMA’s) Statewide Emergency Operations 

Center (EOC). In addition, GEMA representatives are active participants in the TIME Task 

Force. (6)

o Similarly, the TMC operated by the New York City Department of Transportation is located 

in the same facility with the New York Police Department, improving coordination for 

traffic incidents. More recently, the New York State Department of Transportation and 

State Police partnered to design, build, and operate a TMC in the Hudson Valley region to 

facilitate multi-agency TIM and disseminate traveler information. (6)

o The Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s TMC and radio dispatch is co-located 

with the State Police, allowing for better, easier coordination. (6)

o Similarly, the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) Communications Bureau dispatch 

is co-located with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) in Salt Lake City’s TMC. 

The UDOT TMC operators and DPS dispatchers work together to identify incidents and get 

a response unit to the incident scene quicker. 

Training Training 

TIM training efforts may focus on three general areas: 

• Training specific to TIM within one’s own agency or company. 

• Training aimed at increasing awareness of other responders’ roles or existence. 

• Training aimed at improving specific procedural operations. 

Efforts to improve TIM should consider training activities in each of these areas. Training efforts 

focused on a single agency or company’s procedures or on procedural operations can be tailored 

based on specific needs. Training aimed at increasing awareness of other responders’ roles or 

existence should involve response personnel from law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, 

transportation, towing and recovery, and other disciplines. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 44

Common challenges to effective TIM operations stem from the following: 

• Inadequate j Inadequate joint training among raining among raining among responders esponders esponders. TIM personnel receive extensive disciplinespecific training but have fewer opportunities to train with responders from other disciplines. 

The NTIMC Training Task Force has identified essential TIM functions that can be commonly 

performed by various agency personnel in their document Multidisciplinary Core 

Competencies. 

(75) For example, NTIMC recommends that all responders, regardless of 

discipline, be trained to position vehicles to support scene safety and expeditious exit of EMS 

vehicles, establish temporary traffic control, provide basic first aid to victims until EMS 

arrives, and assume incident command until replaced. The NTIMC recommends cooperative 

roles for law enforcement and transportation personnel when establishing advance traffic 

control and detour routes, with fire and rescue personnel providing assistance as needed. 

Similarly, law enforcement personnel are primarily tasked with vehicle and debris removal, 

but transportation and fire and rescue personnel are urged to take an assistive role. Both 

fire and rescue and transportation personnel are presumed to competently perform 

functions associated with the cleanup of minor spills. Multidisciplinary training, particularly 

in these common functional areas, will encourage more efficient and effective TIM. 

• Responder c Responder competency/ ompetency/ ompetency/standardization. tandardization. tandardization. Too often, TIM is learned on the job, with training 

deficiencies most commonly identified for transportation and towing and recovery personnel. 

Transportation agencies, in a formal capacity, are relatively new to TIM and, therefore, lack 

substantive training materials. Unlike public safety agencies, whose personnel devote much 

of their time to training for emergency or life-threatening situations, transportation personnel 

are typically not trained in such areas. One reason may be that the role of transportation 

agencies at an incident scene may be clear in the most general terms (i.e., to provide traffic 

control) but quickly becomes vague about specific duties such as response to hazardous 

material incidents. In addition, the roles and involvement of transportation agencies in TIM 

vary nationally (i.e., some transportation agencies are very proactive and would like to 

assume additional TIM responsibilities, whereas others are content to perform construction 

and maintenance functions). 

Until recently, towing and recovery agencies also suffered from a lack of substantive training 

materials. The TRAA National Driver Certification program was developed to enhance TIM 

training for towing and recovery operators. Not all companies subscribe to the TRAA 

certification program, however, resulting in inconsistent operator competency at the scene of 

an incident. A request to a towing and recovery company may result in response by a wellqualified professional with years of expertise or a new employee whose skills are not up to 

the job. 

• Variable t Variable traffic control training among raining among raining among responders. esponders. esponders. The use of traffic control standards 

meets driver expectations and reduces a public agency’s potential for liability. 

Nontransportation personnel are often ill equipped and untrained to provide extensive traffic 

control at the scene of an incident. Because they are often first on the scene, however, 

enhancements to scene management could result if they are trained in MUTCD-compliant 

procedures, despite limitations in available traffic control devices. 

Table 8 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 45

Table 8. Training challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

TRAINING TRAINING 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Inadequate Joint Training

Responder Competency/StandardsVariable Traffic Control Training

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

National TIM Training National TIM Training 

National Highway Institute (NHI National Highway Institute (NHI), Department of Department of 

Homeland Security ( Homeland Security (DHS, NIMS), Consortium for Consortium for 

ITS Training and Education ( ITS Training and Education (CITE), Traffic Traffic 

Incident Management Systems 

Information Clearinghouses/ 

Communities of Practice Communities of Practice 



NTIMC, ResponderSafety.com, I- NTIMC, ResponderSafety.com, I-95 Quick 95 Quick 

Clearance Toolkit, International Association of Clearance Toolkit, International Association of 

Chiefs of Police (IACP Chiefs of Police (IACP) Technology Clearinghouse, Technology Clearinghouse, 

IAFC Vehicle Safety Resources, FL (Southwest), 

GA, IN, NV, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), NY, 

WA, WI 

Local Multidisciplinary TIM Training Local Multidisciplinary TIM Training 

AZ, FL, GA, IN, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OR, TX (Dallas, AZ, FL, GA, IN, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OR, TX (Dallas, 

Ft. Worth), VA, WA, WI Ft. Worth), VA, WA, WI 

Tabletop Exercises/Scenarios Tabletop Exercises/Scenarios  NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), MD NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), MD 

After-Action Reviews/Debriefings Action Reviews/Debriefings Action Reviews/Debriefings 

FL, ME/NH, GA, NV, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley 

Region), TX (Austin), WI Region), TX (Austin), WI 

Multidisciplinary TIM Response Multidisciplinary TIM Response 

Plan/Operating Procedures Plan/Operating Procedures 

  

AZ, CT, ME/NH, MA, MN, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley 

Region), NY, NC, OH, TX (Austin, San Antonio), WI Region), NY, NC, OH, TX (Austin, San Antonio), WI 

TIM Personnel Certifications/Training 

Requirements Requirements 

 

TRAA, GA, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), NY 

(Hudson Valley Region), VA (Hudson Valley Region), VA n Valley Region), VA 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• National TIM t National TIM training. raining. raining. NHI offers a suite of courses that provides awareness-level training for 

personnel from law enforcement, fire and rescue, transportation, towing and recovery, 

communications, and other agencies or companies involved in responding to incidents or 

planning special events: 

o Managing Traffic Incident and Roadway Emergencies (FHWA-NHI-133048) addresses 

institutional and technical aspects of resolving traffic incidents and roadway 

emergencies safely and efficiently. 

o Managing Travel for Planned Special Events (FHWA-NHI-133099) guides practitioners 

through all phases of managing travel for planned events using a local event scenario. 

o Using the Incident Command System (ICS) at Highway Incidents (FHWA-NHI-133101) 

presents an overview of ICS, its structure, and how it expands/contracts to meet incident 

demands while maintaining a manageable span of control for on-scene personnel. 

These courses may be taken individually or in succession. 

In addition, DHS offers NIMS training. The NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template 

to enable Federal, State, tribal, and local governments; the private sector; and 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 46

nongovernmental organizations to work together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover 

from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, 

in order to reduce the loss of life and property and reduce harm to the environment. These 

courses are available online, accessible at 

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/NIMSTrainingCourses, for all emergency-servicesrelated disciplines such as law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, hospitals, public health, 

public works/utilities, skilled support personnel, and other emergency management 

response, support, and volunteer personnel. (76)

CITE also provides an online course related to TIM, accessible at 

http://www.citeconsortium.org/courses/1mod8.html.

 (77) This course, however, is intended 

for transportation professionals from State, regional, and local agencies and may lack a 

multidisciplinary focus. 

Recently, the U.S. Fire Administration and the USDOT, working in partnership with the 

International Fire Service Training Association, published Traffic Incident Management 

Systems. (78) The report provides guidance to local-level fire and rescue agencies to 

encourage compliance with the MUTCD and the Incident Command System Model 

Procedures Guide for Incidents Involving Structural Fire Fighting, High Rise, Multi Casualty, 

Highway, & Managing Large-Scale Incidents Using NIMS-ICS. (79) The report includes case 

studies of roadway incidents that have resulted in firefighter fatalities, highway scene safety 

survival basics, incident command for roadway incidents, and examples of effective TIM 

programs. 

• Information Information ormation clearinghouses/ learinghouses/ learinghouses/communities of ommunities of ommunities of practice. ractice. ractice. Electronic information clearinghouses 

or communities of practice (COPs) focused on TIM can support local training efforts as well 

as achieve broader benefits related to targeted information exchange and expedited 

implementation of successful TIM tools and strategies. 

A number of TIM-related information clearinghouses or COPs exist at the national level: 

o The NTIMC website, accessible at http://timcoalition.org/?siteid=41&pageid=590, 

provides electronic access to information intended to promote State, regional, and local 

TIM programs; TIM-related standards, best practices, and performance measures; and 

TIM-related research. (1) The website provides an overview of the recently ratified NUG 

and includes links to various TIM-related publications and products, multidisciplinary and 

directed TIM training materials, quick clearance legislation and policies, standard 

operating procedures and guidelines, State and local TIM activities, and upcoming TIMrelated meetings and events. The NTIMC also supports information exchange through a 

COP website, accessible at http://timexchange.org/inc/inc.nsf/home. 

(80) The NTIMC 

COP website offers a forum for TIM practitioners to post and respond to questions to 

encourage the direct exchange of experiences and knowledge within the TIM community. 

o The FHWA’s Emergency Transportation Operations Traffic Incident Management website, 

accessible at http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/eto_tim_pse/about/tim.htm, provides descriptive 

information about TIM and TIM partners, as well as electronic access to various related 

publications (including a link to FHWA’s Office of Operation’s Publications website that 

includes more than 30 TIM related reports), regulations, and policies. (67) This 

information clearinghouse also provides a point of contact at FHWA if further information 

is required. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 47

o The ResponderSafety.com website, accessible at www.respondersafety.com, provides 

similar opportunities for information exchange. (81) This website—created and maintained 

by the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association Emergency Responder Safety 

Institute (ERSI), with recent support from the U.S. Fire Administration—includes timely 

news, downloadable training courses and information, product and equipment 

information, a photo gallery, model standard operating procedures and guidelines, 

information on quick clearance legislation, and more. 

o The Coordinated Incident Management Toolkit for Quick Clearance, developed by the 

I-95 Corridor Coalition, serves as an additional resource to support information 

exchange. (43) The toolkit is designed for use by multiple disciplines and provides policy 

makers and TIM practitioners with ready-to-use tools to assist them in providing more 

effective TIM practices, with a primary emphasis on quick clearance. Information that is 

available electronically for download includes presentations, videos, and TIM scenarios, 

as well as supporting information such as sample policies, laws, memoranda of 

understanding, and incident response plans. 

o Providing for more focused information exchange, a technology clearinghouse was 

established in 1997 through a cooperative agreement between the IACP, FHWA, and the 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The IACP Technology 

Clearinghouse, accessible at http://www.iacptechnology.org/, is a web-based 

information exchange forum focused on innovative law enforcement and transportation 

technologies. The website provides informational resources related to TIM technologies 

and resources, ITS, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and records management systems, 

and law enforcement information management resources. The website receives over 

3.6 million hits each year. (82)

o Intended primarily for fire and rescue personnel, the IAFC Vehicle Safety Resources 

website, accessible at 

http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=413, provides 

unrestricted access to various standard operating procedures and guidelines that relate 

to positioning vehicles at the scene of an incident, the use of emergency lighting, and 

general TIM operations with a focus on safety. (83)

Similar resources have been developed at the State level. For example, the Delaware Valley 

region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania has developed a collection of resources or “toolbox” 

to support TIM task force development and ongoing efforts. A CD contains a series of readyto-use TIM meeting facilitation materials, examples of local TIM products, a video, and 

various national resource documents. (6)

A number of States also host websites intended to share TIM-related information. Examples 

include: 

o The Delaware Valley region’s (New Jersey and Pennsylvania) Incident Management 

website, accessible at http://www.dvrpc.org/Operations/IncidentManagement.htm.

 (84)

o Southwest Florida’s TIM website, accessible at http://www.swfltim.org/.

 (85)

o Metro Atlanta’s (Georgia) TIME website, accessible at http://www.timetaskforce.com/.

 (68)

o Indiana’s IN-TIME website, accessible at 

http://www.indianaquickclearance.org/index.php.

 (58)

o New York’s Traffic Incident Management website, accessible at 

https://www.nysdot.gov/tim.

 (86)

o Washington’s WaTIMCo website, accessible at http://www.watimcoalition.org/.

 (70)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 48

o Wisconsin’s TIME program website, accessible at 

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/stoc/time.htm.

 (71)

Select States routinely distribute supplemental newsletters to further enhance information 

sharing among TIM practitioners: 

o In southwest Florida, a bimonthly newsletter is distributed in electronic format that 

includes information regarding State and local TIM team activities and national TIM 

initiatives. (6)

o Similarly, Georgia distributes a quarterly newsletter to all participating agencies with 

updates on current accomplishments of the TIME Task Force. (6)

o With a more specific focus, Nevada distributes an annual newsletter that updates 

members/stakeholders on current activities as they relate to the State’s TIM strategic 

plan. (6)

• Local m Local multidisciplinary TIM disciplinary TIM disciplinary TIM training raining raining. Multidisciplinary training—involving personnel from law 

enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, transportation, towing and recovery, and other 

disciplines—can effectively identify operational challenges and solutions, enhance 

understanding of respective personnel roles and responsibilities, encourage the efficient use 

of resources, and improve overall TIM operations, particularly if the training is tailored to 

meet local conditions, policies, procedures, and needs. 

Traditional multidisciplinary TIM training typically involves in-person interactions in a 

classroom environment. In Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, NCTCOG operates a successful, long-term 

TIM training program. Two separate courses have been designed for first 

responders/managers and executive-level policy makers. The first responder/manager level 

course is 2 d (15 h) in duration and offered nine times per year. The executive-level course is 

2 h in duration and offered twice per year. Each course explains the goals, objectives, and 

benefits of multi-agency TIM coordination and training. Students are eligible for Texas 

Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) and Fire 

Commission credits. In its first 3 yr of operation, more than 600 first responders/managers 

and 70 executives completed NCTCOG’s TIM training courses, resulting in a related 

significant reduction in lane closures due to incidents. (87)

Offering similar training opportunities, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) 

teamed with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) to develop 

the Transportation Emergency Response Institute (TERI) to train VDOT staff, partner 

agencies, and other stakeholders in responding effectively to roadway emergencies. (6)

It is often difficult, however, for multiple disciplines to commit to formal, in-person training on 

a frequent basis. An alternative training method is to involve representatives from outside a 

discipline to speak about their role in TIM at regular agency or company training sessions. 

Several examples of this approach are available from across the Nation: 

o The Arizona Highway Patrol offers a 4-h training session to local fire and rescue agencies 

focused on TIM operations and quick clearance. The training session is credited with 

changing the way in which fire and rescue personnel position their vehicles at the scene 

of an incident, reducing overall lane blockage. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 49

o A similar training course focused on vehicle positioning and scene safety is provided to 

area fire and rescue agencies by Michigan Department of Transportation personnel. (6)

o New Jersey Department of Transportation personnel provide a training session for all 

recruits at the State Police Academy. In addition, TIM personnel have organized 1-d 

multidisciplinary training programs involving the State transportation, State and local law 

enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, Port Authority, and State Department of 

Environmental Protection agencies. 

o Quick clearance principles are taught in law enforcement academies in New York, as part 

of continuing rather than basic training. (6)

o Georgia is planning to develop a 2- to 4-h TIM training session and integrate it into the 

Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) program for statewide delivery. (6)

o Representatives from the Maryland State Highway Administration speak regularly to 

trainees in law enforcement and fire academies. Although exposure to public safety 

personnel has been historically limited—transportation personnel reported having a 

single hour to address State Police trainees and access to a single fire academy—recent 

extensive outreach efforts have successfully increased exposure to Maryland’s Roadway 

Incident Safety Responder Training program, particularly within the State’s fire 

academies. (6)

o The Oregon Department of Transportation supports a local outreach program focused on 

responder safety that offers TIM training to both local law enforcement and fire and 

rescue responders. (66)

o In Washington, multidisciplinary TIM training is provided cooperatively by the Washington 

State Department of Transportation, State Patrol, and fire and rescue personnel who 

emphasize unified command among all three disciplines. The State Patrol district 

commander in each district works with area transportation and fire district 

representatives to provide training sessions at least once per quarter. (6)

A second alternative to formal, in-person TIM training is to make training widely available 

through a variety of remote mediums. For example, various training modules related to 

traffic control, scene safety, and the ICS are available for use by multiple agencies in Indiana. 

Training materials are available for download at the IN-TIME website, accessible at 

http://www.indianaquickclearance.org/. 

(58) Similarly, training materials consistent with the

State’s Emergency Traffic Control and Scene Guidelines are available to agencies free of 

charge in Wisconsin. The training materials, which are available on DVD and include 

PowerPoint presentations for students and instructors with an accompanying instructor’s 

manual, can be ordered through the TIME website, accessible at 

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/stoc/time.htm. 

(71)

Supporting similar remote training efforts, the North Carolina Department of Transportation 

recently teamed with the State fire marshal and State and local law enforcement agencies to 

develop a Highway Incident Safety video, accessible for viewing at 

http://www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/RPD/rpd_resources_HighwaySafety.asp, intended to serve as 

a training tool for all responders in the State. The video introduces recent changes to 

apparatus and traffic cone placement at incident scenes and high‐visibility chevron striping 

as per National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901: Standard for Automotive Fire 

Apparatus. The video also addresses more general principles related to safe vehicle 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 50

placement and proper traffic control at incident scenes. The video has been integrated into 

statewide training in the fire academy, as well as standard training in the Highway Patrol 

academy. More than 5,000 DVDs will be produced and distributed to agencies around the 

State. Fire departments that use the video for in‐service training receive five free traffic 

cones for each of their trucks. The development effort, including the supply of traffic cones, 

was funded through a grant issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA). (6)

Most recently, Florida set an ambitious goal of exposing all law enforcement, fire and rescue, 

and EMS first responders to TIM during the calendar year through a coordinated effort 

involving the Florida Department of Transportation, Highway Patrol, Police Chiefs Association, 

Sheriffs Association, and Fire Chiefs Association. (88) Initiated in early 2010, the “TIM in ’10” 

program employs a three-pronged training approach utilizing classroom, online, and video 

training strategies:

o The 4- to 6-h classroom training module, Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) for Responders, 

describes traffic control principles commensurate with the limited resources available to 

emergency responders. 

o The companion PowerPoint slide series is available online to support independent study. 

o The roll call five-part streaming video product, TIMe4Safety, allows individuals or groups 

of responders to accomplish TIM training in less than 1 h. The video is accessible online 

at http://northfloridatpo.com/index.php?id=25. 

(89)

In its first three months or operation, nearly 200 agencies signed on to participate in the TIM 

in ’10 program, representing exposure to over 21,000 Florida first responders. The roll call 

streaming video product, sponsored by the North Florida Transportation Planning 

Organization, is the most popular training strategy. Several agencies host the video on their 

websites, and more than 500 DVD versions have been produced and distributed statewide. 

Florida’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC) has authorized 1 h of 

mandatory retraining credits for viewing the five-part TIMe4Safety video and will be requiring 

it in the future basic law enforcement officer training curriculum. (88)

• Tabletop e Tabletop exercises/ xercises/ xercises/scenarios. cenarios. cenarios. For TIM training focused on operations, staged incidents 

provide the best forum for learning, particularly if the time and place of the staged incident 

are covert. Complex logistics prevent this form of training from occurring frequently, 

however. A training alternative includes tabletop exercises and scenarios in which 

representatives from law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, transportation, and private 

industry “act out” what they would do in a sample incident using a two- or three-dimensional 

representation of the roadway environment (e.g., aerial maps and photographs) and props 

(e.g., toy cars) representing TIM resources. The benefit of scenario training over on-the-job 

training is that participants can stop at any time and question other responders about their 

actions. At an actual incident scene, the urgency of performing actions does not allow this 

type of insightful discussion. 

In the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the TIM task force for the I-95 

corridor through Philadelphia, PA, staged a tabletop exercise with participants from all 

disciplines. Just weeks after the training exercise was performed, a major incident closed I95 for several days at the same location as the scenario. The TIM Task Force credits the 

efficient and effective response to the “actual” incident to the prior participation in the 

tabletop exercise. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 51

As noted previously, traditional tabletop exercises/scenarios rely upon aerial maps, 

photographs, props, and other items to replicate the incident environment. More recently, 

the conduct of tabletop exercises/scenarios can be supported through commercially 

available virtual incident simulation software. Incident CommanderTM, developed by the 

National Institute of Justice, is one example of a virtual training tool. Using threedimensional, multiplayer computer gaming simulation technology, Incident CommanderTM 

allows TIM personnel to enhance response performance for a variety of large-scale incidents 

including severe storms and natural disasters; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 

events; terrorist bombings and insurgencies; explosions and fires; and floods. 

With a focus on smaller-scale, traffic-related incidents, the I-95 Corridor Coalition is 

sponsoring development of the Virtual Incident Management Training program, designed to 

educate and validate TIM techniques and quick clearance practices. It promotes 

communication, coordination, and cooperation using practical, interactive incident scenarios 

for up to 500 responders simultaneously. The program incorporates realistic time delays 

and resource limitations. Based on direct experience with the Virtual Incident Management 

Training program prototype, TIM personnel in Baltimore, MD, rated its effectiveness in 

enhancing the adequacy of multidisciplinary training among responders as high. 

• After-action reviews/ eviews/ eviews/debriefings. ebriefings. ebriefings. Follow-up reviews or assessments of incidents after their 

occurrence are important to discuss what went well and what actions could be improved 

upon. Ideally, after-action reviews/debriefings should occur immediately after the incident 

has been cleared (to ensure that details and procedures of the response effort are not 

forgotten) but following the necessary data collection. The main goals of these meetings are 

to constructively critique the procedures used and any decisions made and to determine 

whether future management could be improved in any way (e.g., by restructuring the 

procedures, adding extra resources, etc.). Personnel in attendance should include each of 

the responders who participated in the management effort. The I-95 Corridor Coalition’s 

Traffic Incident Management Teams Best Practices Report includes a comprehensive 

implementation checklist in appendix D for effectively conducting after-action 

reviews/debriefings. (6)

The effectiveness of after-action reviews/debriefings is dependent upon the frequency with 

which debriefings are held and the tone of the meetings when they are held. After-action 

reviews that are too infrequent or too cordial (i.e., no one is willing to raise any criticism) may 

not effectively identify opportunities for improvement in TIM operations. 

A number of TIM programs from across the Nation include after-action reviews/debriefings 

as part of their operations, with varying frequencies of occurrence: 

o In Florida, the TIM team conducts after-action reviews/debriefings for major incidents 

occurring on the Turnpike. (6)

o Similarly, the TIM team in Maine and New Hampshire conducts after-action 

reviews/debriefings following major incidents. Standard forms that allow responders and 

the incident commander to recall the incident are used. After the debriefing session, a 

representative from the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission (SMRPC) 

develops an After Action Report and distributes it to all participants. (6)

o In Austin, TX, after-action reviews/debriefings are held for all incidents longer than 4 h in 

duration. Debriefings involve responders involved in the incident, as well as the broader 

AIMHigh Team, to more widely disseminate best practices and lessons learned. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 52

o On a regular monthly basis, Georgia’s TIME Task Force conducts after-action reviews to 

debrief any major, commercial-vehicle-involved incidents with all responding agencies. (6)

o Similarly, Nevada’s TIM Coalition meets bimonthly to debrief major incidents. (6)

o In the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, incident responders 

routinely present and discuss recent incidents at quarterly task force meetings. 

Response to major incidents may require additional discussion and be addressed during 

a stand-alone after-action review. In both cases, all responders involved in the incident 

are present at the debriefings. 

o In Wisconsin, facilitators use video from the incident scene—recorded by the TMC on 

72-h loops—to support post-incident debriefings conducted as part of their TIME program. 

The practice has proven successful in enhancing the post-incident debriefing process 

with no negative legal implications. (6)

• Multidisciplinary TIM r Multidisciplinary TIM response esponse esponse plan/operating perating perating procedures. rocedures. rocedures. To ensure that TIM training 

efforts are effective, operations are efficient, and the program has longevity, it is important to 

develop textual material to support recommended actions. A multidisciplinary TIM response 

plan or operating procedures generally include the policies and responsibilities for each 

participating agency or company, response personnel capabilities and training, and 

resources (i.e., equipment and supplies) and their availability. Responder policies and 

responsibilities can be fairly general to allow them to be adapted to different incidents but 

specific enough so that each responder’s responsibility within the context of TIM is clear. Any 

interagency agreements developed to facilitate efficient TIM operations should be included. 

The most successful TIM response plans/operating procedures are cooperatively developed. 

Several examples of TIM response plans/operating procedures are available from across the 

Nation: 

o Arizona’s Statewide Incident Management Plan—which includes statewide alternate 

route plans and TMC TIM operations guidelines—was developed with input obtained from 

legislative, transportation, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and EMS agencies; the 

towing industry; and others. The plan includes related traffic control agreements with the 

towing industry. (90)

o Maine and New Hampshire’s Traffic Incident Management Action Plan, cooperatively 

developed by TIM personnel in both States, is intended to assist in assessing existing 

local TIM practices and improving the overall TIM process. (6)

o In Massachusetts, a Unified Response Manual (URM) was first developed in 1998 to 

encourage consistent and common terminology for responding agencies tasked with 

managing traffic incidents. This document was recently updated in 2009 and includes 

an enhanced emphasis on safe, quick incident clearance and procedures for unified 

command, incident response, incident clearance, and after action reviews. 

o Referencing Massachusetts’ URM as the model, the Connecticut Transportation Strategy 

Board’s Statewide TIM Task Force studied and identified the need for a similar URM to 

enhance interagency coordination of first responders at incident scenes in Connecticut. 

The Department of Emergency Management Homeland Security has agreed to develop a 

training program from the URM, to be provided to police and fire academies. (6)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 53

o In Minnesota, the Twin Cities Metro Incident Management Steering Committee’s Incident 

Management Recommended Operations Guidelines defines the roles and 

responsibilities of different agencies at incident scenes, and provides guidelines for 

incident response and clearance. The Minnesota statewide plan, currently under 

development, is modeled after this regional plan. 

o A TIM task force, established by the DVRPC, New Jersey Department of Transportation, 

and New Jersey State Police, was recently recognized with an award for its 

multidisciplinary Policy and Procedures Manual, which defines operational guidelines in 

response to incidents along I-676, I-76, and I-295. Since the manual was implemented 

in 2005, incident duration has decreased by 34 percent on I-676, by 10 percent on I-76, 

and by 14 percent on I-295. (91) New Jersey is also currently in the process of finalizing a 

Statewide Incident Responders Policy and Procedures Manual. This statewide manual is 

currently under review by the superintendent of the New Jersey State Police and the 

Office of the Attorney General. Once approved, this manual will provide uniform 

operational guidelines for safe incident operations throughout the State. In a related 

effort, a second DVRPC TIM task force developed Traffic Incident Operating Guidelines 

for the I-76/I-476 Crossroads area, including standard incident response procedures 

related to unidirectional response to prevent crossovers, use of a common radio 

frequency, and use of a single county agency dispatcher for all radio traffic. (6)

o The Ohio Department of Transportation developed an Ohio QuickClear Professional 

Responders Guide for Safe and Effective Highway Incident Management, accessible at 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/HighwayOps/Traffic/publications2/Ohioquickclear

/Documents/Ohio%20QuickClear_Oct007.pdf, that describes recommended practice for 

all agencies and specifically for fire and EMS, law enforcement, transportation, and 

towing and recovery agencies as part of their broad TIM program. (8)

o To support the extended deployment of surveillance and information dissemination 

systems along the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio, TX, an Incident 

Management Response Plan for I-35 was recently developed. (16) This effort involved 

documenting current TIM procedures, determining agency roles and responsibilities, and 

defining response actions for multiple State and local jurisdictions in the 52-mi corridor. 

o Wisconsin’s Emergency Traffic Control and Scene Guidelines includes accompanying 

products and initiatives such as a response vehicle visor card for easy reference and TIM 

practitioner training available on DVD (described previously). Accompanying products are 

free of charge and can be ordered through the TIME website, accessible at 

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/stoc/time.htm. 

(71)

Additional TIM response plans/operating procedures have been developed targeting distinct 

responders or incident types: 

o In an abbreviated format, the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s AssociationERSI 

developed an eight-step Roadway Incident Safety Checklist to encourage safety among 

fire and rescue personnel during roadway incidents focused on roadway incident safety 

training; multi-agency planning, training, policies, and procedures; on-scene exposure; 

apparatus placement and scene protection; warning lights and apparatus visibility; 

retroreflective and florescent personal protective equipment; safety officers and 

personnel accountability systems at highway incidents; and public education. (92)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 54

o In the Hudson Valley region, New York, a Media Traffic Incident Management Handbook

was developed to outline the rules and procedures for media personnel when at an 

incident scene. The handbook requires media personnel to wear approved safety vests, 

park in a particular position and location, and check in with the on-scene incident 

commander upon arrival. (6)

o Motivated by a single, more-than-90-vehicle collision event—that began with a single car 

collision with a median barrier and escalated to a catastrophic incident—the North 

Carolina Highway Patrol developed and implemented a Multi-vehicle Collision Response 

Plan. This plan incorporates the lessons learned in the management of this incident. (6)

• TIM personnel ersonnel ersonnel certifications ertifications ertifications/training raining raining requirements equirements equirements. Personnel certification helps to ensure a 

certain level of consistency and competency in TIM task performance. Certifications can be 

valid indefinitely following demonstration of a minimum acceptable knowledge or skill base 

(i.e., passing an exam) or may require periodic training and recertification to ensure that 

knowledge and skills remain strong. Certifications can differ by specific area of expertise or 

with increasing complexity. For example, the Georgia Department of Transportation provides 

a 208-h certification program for members of its HERO service patrol program. 

Discussions regarding personnel certifications/training requirements have traditionally 

focused on improving consistency and competency among towing and recovery operators. 

Towing and recovery services represent an important component in the TIM process. Their 

quick response to the incident and their efficient conduct of the removal activity can be a key 

step in minimizing incident duration. Prequalification procedures can identify towing and 

recovery companies that have the appropriate equipment, education, certifications, and level 

of competency to serve as TIM responders. A number of recent programs or initiatives have 

been developed with a focus on enhancing towing and recovery operations: 

o In an effort to improve the quality and consistency of response industry-wide, TRAA 

developed a three-level National Driver Certification program that incorporates TIM 

training. An increasing number of law enforcement agencies that contract with towers 

are now requiring TRAA certification as a qualification for participation. 

o In Virginia, adequate towing and recovery standards, training, and equipment 

requirements are encouraged through State law: 

§46.2-2826. Public safety towing and recovery services. The Board shall 

establish regulations required of Class A and Class B operators to provide 

public safety towing and recovery services. For the purposes of this section, 

“public safety towing and recovery services” shall be those towing and 

recovery and related services requested by a state or local law-enforcement 

agency. Such regulations shall establish minimum requirements, including 

qualifications, standards, necessary equipment, and public safety concerns 

necessary and appropriate to permit a Class A or Class B operator to provide 

public safety towing and recovery services. No operator shall provide public 

safety towing and recovery services unless they meet such criteria 

established by Board regulation applicable to public safety towing and 

recovery services. Upon submitting evidence to the Board of meeting such 

criteria, the Board shall maintain, on a timely basis, a list to be readily 

available to state and local law-enforcement agencies of Class A and Class B 

operators who meet the Board’s criteria for providing public safety towing and 

recovery services. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 55

o In New York’s Hudson Valley region, a High-Bid Contract Towing program is administered 

by the New York State Department of Transportation, supervised by the New York State 

Police, and awarded on the basis of competitive bidding. Contracts are awarded to the 

highest responsible bidder, with concurrent strict qualifications and guidelines, including 

regular inspections and response times less than 30 min. (6)

Personnel certifications and training requirements have also been identified as a possible 

strategy to enhance the adequacy and consistency of traffic control training among TIM 

personnel. While transportation personnel receive extensive training in proper traffic control 

procedures, nontransportation personnel are often ill equipped and untrained to provide 

extensive traffic control at the scene of an incident. Because they are often first on the 

scene, however, requiring a minimum level of competency in proper traffic control 

procedures could enhance scene management. Existing training courses that already target 

nontransportation personnel—such as the American Traffic Safety Services Association’s 

(ATSSA) Emergency Traffic Control (ETC) for Emergency Responders course—provide 

opportunities for achieving certification in the event such certification is required. This 4-h 

course covers principles and concepts of temporary traffic control presented in Section 6.I of 

the MUTCD. (37) Additional information regarding effective traffic control for TIM operations is 

available in FHWA’s Traffic Control Concepts for Incident Clearance Primer, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08057/fhwahop08057.pdf. 

(93)

Considering a broader range of TIM responders, research is currently underway as part of the 

Strategic Highway Research Program’s reliability focus area (SHRP 2 L 12) that considers the 

potential for responder certification in support of NTIMC’s NUG, with a focus on the common 

core competencies that promote a shared understanding of the requirements for achieving 

the safety of responders and motorists, quick response, and effective communications at 

traffic incident scenes. Products developed as part of this effort include a checklist of 

responder actions and associated core competencies, a curriculum and instruction outline 

for key responder types, and a recommended framework for responder certification. A pilot 

training course was delivered to TIM personnel in Indiana in March 2010 and, based on the 

evaluation of the proposed certification approach, will be considered for more widespread 

implementation. 

Regardless of the nature and extent of required training, personnel certifications and training 

requirements are ineffective without active enforcement. Law enforcement or transportation 

agencies responsible for ensuring compliance may have limited resources to allocate to this 

activity. Consequently, it is important when implementing TIM certifications and standards 

that a companion strategy for efficiently enforcing the requirements be developed. 

Prequalification procedures for participating in TIM activities can determine initial eligibility; 

periodic checks can be performed to determine ongoing eligibility. Suitable “punishments” 

are also required for not meeting the certification/standards requirements. 

For example, a TIM task force in the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania 

has begun using a Policy Violation Acknowledgement Form to ensure that TIM personnel are 

following appropriate on‐scene procedures. Although TIM personnel are not officially 

“certified,” participating law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, transportation, towing and 

recovery, and communications agencies are required to indicate concurrence with the 

region’s multidisciplinary Policy and Procedures Manual and commit to take corrective action 

against individuals within their respective agencies when an unsafe procedural violation is 

observed. Any responder can anonymously complete the Policy Violation Acknowledgement 

Form and submit it to the DVRPC Feedback Committee. The committee will investigate the 

violation and meet with agency management to ensure corrective actions are taken. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 56

Maintaining the privacy of the violating agency, the violation forms are reviewed at regular 

task force meetings to share lessons learned. (6)

Communications Communications 

TIM communications includes the exchange of information both on- and off-scene, and within and 

between participating agencies and private companies. Critical communication links include an 

agency’s dispatch with agency responders in the field, an agency’s field responders with another 

agency’s field responders, and an agency’s dispatch with another agency’s dispatch. 

Common challenges to effective communication include the following: 

• Limited e Limited en-route and oute and oute and on-scene communications ommunications ommunications. Limited communications capabilities

compromise both en-route and on-scene operations. En route to the incident, speed and 

convenience could be improved if response personnel from different agencies were able to 

communicate directly with one another. For example, law enforcement personnel already at 

the scene of an incident may want to inform the dispatched towing and recovery operator to 

take an alternate, more time-efficient route. Instead, the towing and recovery operator may 

lose 15 min or more weaving through the traffic backup. When agencies from different or 

multiple jurisdictions need to coordinate response actions on-scene, personnel often rely 

upon other, inefficient means of communication (such as relaying messages through 

multiple dispatchers or using runners to hand-carry messages). For example, law 

enforcement personnel may want to inform transportation personnel of the need to close a 

lane temporarily to remove the wreckage from the scene. Transportation personnel may be 

controlling traffic a significant distance upstream of the incident. Limited communications 

capabilities among responders prevent the request from being made directly. 

• Inefficient c Inefficient communications. ommunications. ommunications. Both dispatchers and field personnel have been faced with not 

knowing whom to call, not calling the appropriate person, and not having accurate numbers 

for contacting the appropriate person. As a result, multiple calls are often made to reach the 

appropriate personnel, wasting time and heightening frustration. It is important to know not 

only whom to call but under what circumstances. For example, during normal operating 

hours, transportation department supervisors may want incident response requests routed 

through them, but this chain of command is likely to change during after-hours operations. 

Locating specialty equipment may also require several calls before the equipment can be 

successfully dispatched. On-scene, efficient communications are required to quickly identify 

who is directing the overall management of the scene (i.e., incident commander), determine 

what actions are required, and convey any unexpected developments or challenges to other 

responders at the scene whose subsequent actions may be impacted. The use of 

specialized codes or acronyms that are not understood by all responders on-scene further 

challenges efficient communications. 

Table 9 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—including

common or interoperable radio systems, the cross installation of radios, and the use of console 

patches—are included in appendix C. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 57

Table 9. Communications challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

COMMUNICATI COMMUNICATIONS 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Limited 

CommunicationsInefficient Communications

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Common Mutual- Common Mutual-Aid Frequency/Channel Aid Frequency/Channel  ME/NH 

Alternative Communications Devices Alternative Communications Devices  WI 

Wireless Information Networks Wireless Information Networks  AR, DC/MD/VA, IL, MA (Westford), MS AR, DC/MD/VA, IL, MA (Westford), MS MD/VA, IL, MA (Westford), MS 

Mobile Unified Communications Vehicle Mobile Unified Communications Vehicle  IL (Chicago), IL (Chicago), OR (Tillamook Co.) OR (Tillamook Co.) OR (Tillamook Co.) 

Standardized Communications 

Terminology/Protocol Terminology/Protocol 



75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas (Resource Lists), 58+ U.S. 

Metropolitan Areas (ICS), Institute of Elect Metropolitan Areas (ICS), Institute of Elect Institute of Electrical and rical and 

Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)/Global Justice XML 

Data Model (GJXDM) Data Model (GJXDM) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Common m Common mutual-aid frequency/ requency/ requency/channel. Emergency radio systems that allow everyone at an 

incident scene to communicate on a common mutual-aid frequency or channel for the 

duration of the incident is recommended by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in their 

InShort Fact Sheet as a low-cost interoperability solution. (94) Certain designated frequencies 

can be programmed into radios for all agencies. As long as all radios are in the same 

frequency band, responders can select a designated channel to communicate with personnel 

from other agencies. One disadvantage to this approach is that the single interoperability 

radio frequency can become congested in the event of a major incident. (95)

In Maine and New Hampshire, a Public Safety Interoperability Communications Grant was 

recently awarded through the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to assist 

first responders in programming current radio equipment to support the temporary use of 

designated frequencies during incidents. 

• Alternative c Alternative communicatio ommunicatio ommunications devices. evices. evices. The use of alternative communications devices—such 

as cellular telephones or alphanumeric pagers—has proven somewhat promising in 

mitigating interagency communications challenges. These alternative devices are relatively 

inexpensive to purchase, operate, and maintain. In some instances, strict guidelines 

describing when to use such devices and for what purposes may be required. To be most 

effective, a list of cellular telephone numbers or pager numbers should be compiled and 

distributed to appropriate response personnel. If the contact list is not maintained and 

updated, alternative communications devices will quickly lose their effectiveness. 

Alternative communications devices are widely used—both formally and informally—to 

support TIM operations across the Nation. In Wisconsin, the Southeast Wisconsin 

Communications Resource/Support Group (SEWCRSG) was established to enhance public 

safety communication systems through regular dialogue and information sharing, training, 

interoperability advancement, and coordination with other related state/local initiatives. One 

key goal is to identify alternative methods for communicating if primary communication 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 58

methods have been disabled or are not functioning properly. Wisconsin’s TIME program 

members participate in SEWCRSG, along with personnel from various State and local public 

safety agencies and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. (96)

• Wireless i Wireless information nformation nformation networks. etworks. etworks. Wireless technology can also be used to improve 

communications capabilities among TIM responders. For example, the States of Maryland 

and Virginia and the District of Columbia operate a multi-State, multidiscipline interoperable 

public safety and transportation wireless data system—the Capital Wireless Information Net 

(CapWIN)—intended to allow law enforcement, transportation, and fire and rescue personnel 

to communicate across jurisdictions and disciplines, and access operational information. 

CapWIN allows secure one-to-one and group public and private discussions, provides a 

searchable directory of individual first responders, and provides access to regional 

transportation data and multiple State/Federal law enforcement criminal databases to 

support operations. Similar systems are currently in use or under development in other 

States including Arkansas, Illinois, and Mississippi. 

At the local level, the Westford Fire Department in Westford, MA, also utilizes a wireless 

information network to interconnect disparate voice, data, and video systems from the 

nearby towns of Ashland, Beverly, and Lawrence, MA, providing for interoperability while 

allowing users to keep their existing equipment. This approach has proven to be more costeffective than converting all agencies to a common radio platform. (97)

• Mobile u Mobile unifiedcommunicati ommunicati ommunications vehicle. During large-scale, complex incidents, an on-site 

mobile unified communications vehicle equipped with a wide range of radio communications 

and interoperability equipment may more effectively support on-scene activities, particularly 

when on-scene responders are utilizing disparate radio systems. Mobile unified 

communications vehicles may also be utilized to “back up” fixed communications systems, 

should remote TMC/dispatch center capabilities be impeded. 

In Chicago, IL, a unified communications vehicle supports the efforts of the OEMC. In 

addition to being equipped with various radio communications and interoperability 

equipment, the vehicle can also uplink to satellites, capture and transmit real-time video, 

and support up to 100 telephone lines. If the OEMC loses functionality, the unified 

communications vehicle can largely replicate its capabilities. (74)

Similarly, Tillamook County, OR, recently purchased a mobile command/communications 

vehicle (MCCV) to enhance its public safety communications across the largely rural 

jurisdiction. The truck-drawn trailer provides a satellite uplink and supports interoperability 

through radio-over-Internet protocol (RoIP); is equipped with three call-taker dispatch 

positions, allowing it to replace a crippled dispatch center; and has enough onboard battery 

power to run all systems for more than 3 h before needing connection to exterior power. 

Radio communications are reportedly vastly improved as a result of the MCCV. (97)

• Standardized c Standardized communications ommunications ommunications terminology/ minology/ minology/protocol. rotocol. rotocol. Many challenges to effective incidentrelated communications are procedural in nature. Often, these challenges relate to a lack of 

awareness regarding whom to call or how to call the appropriate person(s). The development 

of personnel or equipment resource lists (described previously under “Task-Specific 

Challenges and Strategies—Response”), in use in more than 75 major metropolitan areas in 

the United States, can significantly enhance communications off-site or between dispatchers 

and on-scene personnel. (2) Accompanying standardized communications protocols can be 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 59

developed to formalize and increase awareness of each agency’s call-out procedures and 

contact points around the clock. 

On-scene, use of a command post and other ICS principles can facilitate effective 

communications. Personnel from each responding agency are staged at the command post; 

information and directions are disseminated from the command post to each agency’s 

respective personnel. As noted previously, at least 65 agencies in 58 major U.S. 

metropolitan areas are operating under ICS principles. (2)

For both on-scene and off-scene communications, the use of common terms (i.e., common 

definitions and lingo) for personnel, equipment, and facilities is essential to effective 

communication among TIM responders, particularly as it relates to task assignments and 

expectations. The use of specialized codes or acronyms that are not understood by all 

responders on-scene should be avoided. The use of common terminology and “plain 

language” was also recommended by the NIJ as a low-cost interoperability solution in their 

InShort Fact Sheet. 

(94)

As a related note, the use of common terminology is also essential when exchanging 

information automatically using various technologies. IEEE has developed a suite of 

standards (IEEE Std 1512, 1512.1, 1512.2, 1512.3, and 1512.4) intended to establish 

common TIM message sets that reduce duplication among public safety and traffic 

management centers. (98) Concurrently, the public safety community has developed the 

GJXDM, supported by the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative and operating under 

the auspices of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ). 

Initiated in 2005, the ITS Transportation and Public Safety Information Exchange Project is a 

collaborative effort between the USDOT and USDOJ and is engaged in the development of 

standardized information exchange incorporating both IEEE and GJXDM standards. This 

project will not supplant existing intracommunity standards, but instead focuses on 

identifying the common information interests of the two communities and developing 

exchange methods for data sharing where their interests intersect. (99)

Technology Technology 

Technology plays an important role in every aspect of TIM. In a number of instances, the use of 

technology can be demonstrated to directly increase the efficiency and, in some cases, the 

effectiveness of responders performing their duties. For example: 

• Access to CCTV images of an incident prior to arriving on-scene supports both the dispatch of 

appropriate equipment and quicker dispatch of resources (i.e., instant tow dispatch). 

• Use of AVL and geographic information system (GIS) technologies can identify and mobilize 

resources that are closest in proximity to the incident scene, reducing overall travel times. 

• Traffic signal priority systems can reduce delay for emergency vehicles along signalized 

arterials en route to the incident scene. 

• On-scene, portable intrusion alarm systems—consisting of a sensing mechanism that forms a 

partial perimeter around the incident scene and an audible alarm that warns incident 

responders if an approaching vehicle inappropriately enters the scene—provide a technologybased alternative to the use of response vehicles for responder protection. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 60

• To maintain traffic flow along an alternate route, use of RTSC plans to manage traffic around 

the incident scene relieves law enforcement personnel from this duty and allows them to 

perform other tasks for which they are trained (i.e., crash investigation). 

• When an incident requires investigation by law enforcement personnel, the use of TSSE or 

photogrammetry can dramatically reduce investigation time while increasing the quality and 

quantity of measurements captured. 

The smooth integration of technology into TIM policies and practices can help to support widespread 

implementation and use. However, a number of challenges regarding technology use exist: 

• Lack of standards. Technology standards, typically Lack of standards. developed by industry consensus, define 

how system components operate within a consistent framework. Equipment-related 

standards generally describe design, material, processing, safety aspects, or performance 

characteristics of equipment used for controlling, directing, or informing users of 

transportation facilities. They may include specific testing procedures and guidance for 

evaluating the test results based on the equipment’s intended use. Software or protocol 

standards generally define software or communications procedures used in transportation 

facilities, systems, communications, or equipment. These standards may include message 

sets, object definitions, data dictionaries, and other components of application software, 

operating systems, and communications protocols. 

Standards can be mandatory or less restrictive, including only recommended or optional 

specifications. Agencies that deploy technologies without consideration for standards, 

however, may be locked into proprietary specifications, custom interfaces, higher long-term 

operating and maintenance costs, reduced options for vendor competition and price stability, 

a need for unique training and specialized skills, and early obsolescence. To expand such a 

system, agencies must either buy the same brand of equipment or redesign/rebuild the 

existing system at significant cost. Despite the noted benefits of and incentives for 

incorporating standards into upgrades and enhancements of existing systems or into new 

systems, TIM agency personnel may be inadequately prepared to do so. 

• Limited t Limited technology echnology echnology integration/ ntegration/ ntegration/interoperability. nteroperability. nteroperability. The use of standards in upgrades to existing 

systems and in new systems promotes integration and interoperability among systems and 

system components by supporting data sharing between components manufactured by 

different vendors at different times, across different applications, and among agencies 

located in different jurisdictions. Technological challenges arise when trying to integrate new 

systems with existing or legacy systems. These challenges are compounded when system 

integration or interoperability is required across multiple agencies or multiple jurisdictions. 

Coordination among Federal, State, and local agencies or public safety and transportation 

agencies has typically lacked cohesion. The public and private sectors must also cooperate. 

The technical expertise needed to deploy, operate, and maintain many technologies may be 

beyond the current capability of many State and local agencies; the private sector’s expertise 

may be essential to the system’s success. 

• Inadequate l Inadequate life-cycle costing. osting. osting. Life-cycle costing involves the analysis of the costs of a system 

or a component over its entire life span. Typical costs for a system may include design, 

development, and acquisition costs; operating and maintenance costs; and disposal costs. A 

complete life-cycle cost analysis may also adjust for discount rates, interest rates, 

depreciation, present value of money, etc. With respect to the cost inputs for such an 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 61

analysis, design, development, acquisition, and disposal costs are generally deterministic. 

Operation and maintenance costs can vary significantly based on the complexity of the 

system and the random nature of system failures. The novelty of many of the technologies 

utilized for TIM challenges the accurate prediction of system costs over its lifetime. 

Consequently, these types of analyses may be performed infrequently. 

Table 10 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—including

regional ITS architectures and life-cycle cost requirements for State procurement—are included in 

appendix C. 

Table 10. Technology challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Lack of Standards

Limited Integration/ InteroperabilityInadequate Life-Cycle Costing

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Expedited Standards Development Expedited Standards Development 

Process Process 



Law Enforcement Information Technology 

Standards Council (CAD Systems) Standards Council (CAD Systems) 

Standards Requirements for State 

Procurement Procurement 

 FHWA (ITS) FHWA (ITS) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Expedited s Expedited standards tandards tandards development evelopment evelopment process. The development of robust standards to support 

technology deployment is a lengthy process. At the national level, draft standards for ITS 

deployments must be developed, balloted and amended as appropriate, approved, and 

published, which can take several years. Once the draft standards are published, time is 

needed for manufacturers to incorporate the standards into the devices and systems and 

make the technology available. 

While this process is necessary for the development of high-quality technical and functional 

standards, agencies may become impatient with the timeline if they are seeking to deploy 

technologies in response to a contemporary challenge or may forfeit near-term funding 

opportunities that may no longer be available when the technology standards mature. While 

little can be done to speed the national standards development process, agencies can 

expedite local technology deployment by fully utilizing existing national standards. One such 

example includes the development of functional standards for CAD systems by the Law 

Enforcement Information Technology Standards Council. (100) These specifications are 

designed to assist law enforcement agencies in designing and procuring CAD systems and 

identifying the basic functional requirements to achieve interoperability among systems. 

If no related standards apply, agencies can consult draft national standards currently under 

development to help guide appropriate content and considerations for newly developed 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 62

standards at the State level. Some risk exists in basing State-level standards on draft 

national standards; changes in content or requirements may cause inconsistencies. 

Agencies must then weigh the benefits of expedited technology deployment with the 

potential added costs of system modifications to support interoperability. Once the standard 

is developed,the existence of a standard must be made known, and an ongoing process for 

maintaining and updating the standard is required. Standards can be reviewed on a periodic 

cycle to ensure currency, validity, and applicability based on current knowledge, trends, and 

developments. 

• Standards r Standards requirements for State equirements for State equirements for State procurement. rocurement. rocurement. For ITS development, agencies are being 

asked to incorporate standards into upgrades of existing systems and into new systems to 

promote interoperability and reduce life-cycle costs. As an added incentive, FHWA currently 

requires that all ITS projects funded from the Highway Trust Fund be in conformance with the 

National ITS Architecture and officially adopted standards. Similar requirements could be 

integrated into the State-level procurement process to ensure that minimum levels of system 

and component interoperability are obtained and life-cycle costs for the agency are 

minimized. 

The effectiveness of State procurement standards requirements is dependent upon the wide 

range of services offered by private-sector system integrators in terms of both functionality 

outputs and timeliness. Complex integrations have a high associated risk of compromised 

functionality and time delays. Integrating new systems with existing or legacy systems can 

prove challenging. In some cases, it may be more cost-effective to abandon a legacy system 

in favor of a newly developed system rather than try to integrate the two. For agencies 

involved in TIM, this is not often the case. Public safety or transportation agency legacy 

systems may have been deployed on a regional or statewide level and at a significant cost. 

Integration of new applications with existing systems often proves to be more cost-effective. 

Performance Measurement Performance Measurement 

Performance measurement provides the necessary feedback to TIM responders to allow them to 

improve operations. Equally important, performance measurement provides decision makers with 

the data to demonstrate the value of TIM programs and justify their related expenditures. 

Common challenges to effective performance measurement stem from the following: 

• Inconsistent Inconsistent definitions. efinitions. efinitions. While many agencies currently measure performance related to TIM 

in a single-agency context, the definitions of these measures are often inconsistent between 

transportation and public safety disciplines. For example, both transportation and public 

safety agencies use “response time” as a critical performance measure; however, the 

operational definition of this measure varies significantly. Transportation agencies generally 

define “response time” as the time between when an incident was reported to their agency 

and when the first responder from any official response agency arrived on-scene. Emergency 

service providers generally define “response time” as the time between when a call was 

received by their dispatcher and when their first response vehicle arrived on-scene. (101) The 

operational definition of “clearance time” also varies considerably between transportation 

and public safety agencies. Transportation agencies typically define “clearance time” as the 

time between when the first responders arrived on the scene and when the capacity of the 

facility was fully restored (i.e., when the incident was removed from the travel lanes). (101) 

Law enforcement agencies typically record their time “back in service,” but this often 

includes enforcement or investigatory duties that take place off-site with no impact to the 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 63

primary incident roadway (i.e., if a law enforcement officer pushes an involved vehicle to a 

nearby parking lot and gathers victim and witness information). 

Performance measure definitions used by public safety agencies are fairly standard across 

the industry. National reporting databases—such as the National Fire Incident Reporting 

System—have encouraged agencies to adopt common terminology and collect data in a 

consistent manner. For transportation agencies, performance measure definitions are 

generally local decisions and, hence, are more variable. 

• Lack of c Lack of consensus and onsensus and onsensus and supporting upporting upporting data. Where officials fear public controversy over failure 

to meet stated goals, or unfair comparisons to results from other jurisdictions, there can be 

resistance to setting performance goals and defining associated measures. One example of 

potential conflict is a law enforcement agency establishing a priority to improve response 

times to high-priority incidents (i.e., lane-blocking or injury incidents) while admittedly 

sacrificing response times to lower-priority incidents. The proposed TIM performance 

measure may include all incident types, ranging from lane-blocking, injury incidents to minor 

vehicle disablements, and hence may reflect a higher incident response time and duration 

than that currently reported by law enforcement. Resistance from just a single agency can 

preclude consensus and limit progress in developing associated TIM performance 

measurement methods. 

Even if consensus is reached on intended performance goals and measures, the ability to 

capture the information needed to support these measures may be limited. Many agencies 

currently collect and analyze data to measure their performance toward meeting the goals 

and objectives specific to their agencies. Measuring performance for TIM requires collecting 

program performance data that may be different from agency-specific performance data. 

Oftentimes, limited documentation of incidents and their management exists. Incident 

occurrence may be regularly recorded, but more detailed information relative to the type of 

incident, response times and procedures, and traffic management activities is typically not 

documented. For example, consider the data captured through a typical CAD system. The 

time at which the first recordable awareness of an incident occurs is automatically captured 

from the 9-1-1 call time tag for the majority of incidents. The time at which all travel lanes 

are available for traffic flow (i.e., towing and recovery personnel have physically cleared the 

travel lanes) may be recorded in an open field entry on the incident report, but this 

information is likely neither comprehensive nor consistent. Further, access to historic 

information entered in open fields is not supported by query methods and requires manual 

review of individual records. 

• Limited d Limited data sharing and haring and haring and accessibility. ccessibility. ccessibility. Measuring performance for TIM may require the 

assimilation of data originating from multiple agencies. Certain sensitivities inevitably arise 

regarding data confidentiality and system security. For example, law enforcement agencies 

may have concerns about releasing certain incident-related information recorded in the CAD 

system for fear of compromising investigations or other personal or proprietary information 

related to law enforcement activities. Conversely, transportation agencies may be reluctant 

to release taped video from CCTV cameras, uncertain of how the information will be used. 

Data security concerns, particularly for law enforcement and homeland security 

organizations, complicate the already difficult problems in data sharing. Security issues 

increase costs and can impact the timeliness of data sharing. 

Table 11 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 64

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—including

State Traffic Records Coordinating Committee partnerships and a dedicated TIM database—are 

included in appendix C. 

Table 11. Performance measurement challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Inconsistent Definitions

Lack of Consensus/DataLimited Data Sharing/Accessibility

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

National Performance Measurement 

Guidance Guidance 

 

TIM Focus State Initiative ( TIM Focus State Initiative ( Focus State Initiative (FSI), TIM Performance , TIM Performance 

Measurement Knowledge Management Measurement Knowledge Management 

System/Listserv System/Listserv 

Annual TIM Self Annual TIM Self TIM Self-Assessment Assessment Assessment  75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Strong Funding and Performance Link Strong Funding and Performance Link  MD, WA 

Multi-agency Data Exchange Protocol agency Data Exchange Protocol agency Data Exchange Protocol  

CA (San Diego), CO (El Paso/Teller Co.), NV (Clark 

Co.), TX (Ft. Worth), UT, WA Co.), TX (Ft. Worth), UT, WA 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• National p National performance erformance erformance measurement easurement easurement guidance. uidance. uidance. At the national level, the recently developed 

NUG recommends setting goals for performance and progress as a primary strategy. In 

partnership with transportation and law enforcement agencies in 11 States, FHWA recently 

completed a focus state initiative on TIM performance measures that resulted in three 

uniformly defined, TIM-specific objectives and associated performance metrics. These 

objectives and associated performance metrics include the following: 

o Reduce roadway clearance time—the time between the first recordable awareness of the 

incident by a responsible agency and the first confirmation that all lanes are available for 

traffic flow. 

o Reduce incident clearance time—thetime between the first recordable awareness of the

incident by a responsible agency and the time at which the last responder has left the 

scene. 

o Reduce the number of secondary incidents—the number of unplanned incidents 

beginning with the time of detection of the primary incident where a collision occurs as a 

result of the original incident either within the incident scene or within the queue in either 

direction. 

Early pilot testing of the roadway clearance time and incident clearance time metrics 

confirmed that States are able to use the same TIM-specific performance metrics to analyze 

their respective programs, collect and analyze the necessary data to support TIM-specific 

performance metrics although the methods of data collection may vary, and compare 

program-level TIM performance using common metrics. The secondary incident performance 

metric has not yet been field-tested. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 65

A follow-on investigation, again sponsored by FHWA, is currently underway to encourage 

adoption of these three standard TIM-specific performance metrics by States. In addition, 

FHWA recently made available the TIM Performance Measurement Knowledgebase and 

listserv, accessible at 

http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/eto_tim_pse/preparedness/tim/knowledgebase/index.htm. 

(102) The knowledgebase allows users to search for or browse information by resource type, 

performance measures, or related conferences and events. Participants can join the 

listserv—intended to allow users to share knowledge and insights with the broader TIM 

community—by sending an email to TIMPM@dot.gov.

Additional information regarding the TIM FSI is available in the final report, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10010/fhwahop10010.pdf, or in a related 

informational briefing, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10009/tim_fsi.pdf. (103,104) Similarly, 

additional information regarding the TIM Performance Measurement Knowledgebase is 

available in an informational briefing accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10011/tim_kms.pdf. (105)

• Annual TIM Annual TIM self-assessment. ssessment. ssessment. In 2003, FHWA began facilitating annual self-assessments of 

TIM programs (TIMSA) in the largest 75 urban areas of the United States. Early participants 

were asked to respond to 34 questions related to program and institutional, operational, and 

communications and technology issues using a five-point relative scale ranging from 0 (no 

progress in this area) to 4 (efforts in this area are outstanding). In 2008, the TIMSA was 

revised to better align with the NUG and NIMS and incorporate performance measurement. 

The TIMSA now consists of the following: 

o Strategic questions regarding formal policies, understanding among agencies, and 

performance measurement and program evaluation. 

o Tactical questions covering on-scene response and clearance practices, traffic control, 

and responder and motorist safety. 

o Support questions regarding interagency communications, data sharing, ITS, and traveler 

information. 

Annual self-assessments have enabled State and local program managers and practitioners 

to evaluate their TIM programs and identify strengths and weaknesses in their programs in 

order to prioritize program activities and initiatives. At a national level, the assessments 

enable FHWA to evaluate progress in TIM and to identify national TIM program initiatives. 

Each year, the new assessment is compared against the baseline established in initial 

assessments in 2003 and 2004 and against the previous year’s assessment. FHWA 

publishes an annual TIMSA National Summary Report, aggregating data from all urban areas. 

Reports for 2003 through 2009 are available for download at FHWA’s Traffic Incident 

Management Self Assessment website, accessible at 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/eto_tim_pse/preparedness/tim/self.htm. 

(106)

• Strong f Strong funding and unding and unding and performance erformance erformance link. Similar to performance-based incentive programs 

instituted at the employee level, TIM can be evaluated at the program level with performance 

tied to continued or increased program support. Performance measures defined explicitly for 

TIM should also reflect broader agency-wide or statewide goals related to increased 

productivity, cost-efficiency, and improved quality in the delivery of State services. 

Incorporating performance measures into formal long-range plans can help to ensure that 

TIM programs receive adequate attention in prioritization of projects for funding. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 66

For example, States that were early to adopt, track, and report improvements in average 

incident clearance time as a TIM-specific performance metric describe it as a powerful tool 

for communicating with their State legislatures and with the public. Departments of 

transportation in both Maryland and Washington have made progress in securing more 

consistent, reliable TIM program funding from their State legislatures as a result of TIM 

performance measurement. WSDOT also reports notable success in improving public 

perception of their agency. Specifically, TIM personnel in Baltimore, MD, rated a strong 

funding and performance link as “very high” in effectively reaching consensus and 

developing supporting performance data. This rating suggests a high level of confidence in 

the benefits provided by TIM programs and an agency’s ability to adequately capture and 

report these benefits to decision makers. 

• Multi-agency data exchange xchange xchange protocol. rotocol. rotocol. After TIM program performance measures are defined 

and associated targets and goals are set, it is necessary to specify what data will be used to 

measure each objective, how the data will be collected and analyzed, and who will be 

responsible for the data. Specific considerations may include methods for reconciling 

inconsistencies in performance metric definitions; filtering unnecessary data; efficiently 

assimilating data from disparate agency databases developed under different data 

standards; and performing analysis, evaluation, and reporting with varying levels of 

aggregation to target different audiences. The information-sharing process and each 

agency’s role in that process can be initially defined in a multi-agency data use concept of 

operations document. 

To address sensitivities regarding data confidentiality and system security, agencies can 

develop written agreements that delimit the use and distribution of data: 

o In Washington, WSP had concerns about releasing incident-related information recorded 

in the CAD system to the WSDOT, citing concerns over the integrity of investigations and 

the personal and proprietary nature of some of the information. The two agencies 

successfully established a protocol describing the nature and extent of information 

provided to WSDOT. (107)

o At the national level, the USDOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing Services recently 

published a guide intended to help law enforcement executives and information 

technology managers develop and implement security policies to protect sensitive data 

such as case reports, investigative data, criminal intelligence, and personal information. 

The Law Enforcement Tech Guide for Information Technology Security: How to Assess 

Risk and Establish Effective Policies details strategies for identifying security risks and 

effective measures to mitigate those risks. (108)

Specifically, agencies should consider data ownership and recipients, data use and retention 

times, and protection of confidential information. Depending on the agreements and 

processes in place, sensitive data may be completely unavailable, may have operational 

restrictions placed on them, or may require additional system development to implement 

filters to extract data that can be shared. Some data security issues cannot be overcome 

without enabling legislative action. 

Multi-agency data exchange can be supported at a range of automation levels. At the 

highest level, disparate data collection systems can be fully integrated to automatically 

exchange predefined data with designated partner agencies. Both Utah and Washington 

participated in the FHWA-sponsored National Evaluation of the CAD-TMC Integration Field 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 67

Operational Test to demonstrate the integration of CAD systems with advanced traffic 

management systems (ATMS) used by transportation agencies: (109,110)

o In Utah, UDOT’s CommuterLink ATMS was already integrated with DPS’s CAD system. 

Consequently, the State focused on expanding integration to include four distinct CAD 

systems in the Salt Lake Valley operated by the Valley Emergency Communications 

Center, Salt Lake City Fire Department, Salt Lake City Police Department, and Utah 

Transit Authority. The project was unique in its integration and electronic transfer of data 

between such a wide variety of emergency and traffic management centers. (111)

o In Washington, WSDOT’s Internet-based Condition Acquisition and Reporting System 

(CARS)—that enables State and local agencies to share information on incidents, weather 

conditions, traffic delays, etc.—was integrated with the WSP’s CAD system. Using a direct 

computer-based interface, a filtered incident report, including on-screen map displays, 

appears in CARS within a minute of transfer from the CAD system. (112)

Developments have also recently emerged to ease the integration of disparate CAD systems, 

effectively supporting data exchange among public safety agencies in multiple jurisdictions. 

For example, the CAD-to-CAD Interoperability Guide is a programming interface that enables 

multiple dispatch centers with disparate CAD systems to connect with each other. Notable 

CAD-to-CAD implementations include the Clark County, NV, Combined Communications 

Center; the El Paso/Teller County, CO, 9-1-1 Authority; the City of Fort Worth, TX; and the City 

of San Diego, CA, Fire/EMS Dispatch Center. The CAD-to-CAD Interoperability Guide is 

available for download at http://www.tritech.com/sol_interfacestandards.asp. 

(113)

As data exchange expands between multiple agencies, development of an accompanying 

data dictionary may be required. A data dictionary is a centralized repository of information 

about data—its meaning, relationships to other data, origin, usage, and format. TIM agencies 

can benefit from a common data dictionary that catalogs the organization, contents, and 

conventions of one or more databases owned and maintained by the various TIM agencies. 

Enhanced knowledge about each agency’s databases will not only enhance ongoing TIM 

program performance measurement that requires data originating from multiple agencies 

but may also identify and encourage additional data-sharing opportunities. 

Program Resources and Funding Program Resources and Funding 

To establish, maintain, and improve TIM programs, adequate and ongoing resources to support 

operation must be available. Program administrators must not only understand the funding process 

at Federal, State, and local levels, but must also be able to identify specific sources of monetary 

support appropriate for TIM and must successfully compete for it. Additional funding cannot be 

viewed in isolation as a panacea to address TIM challenges. However, adequate funding can help to 

support incremental improvements in TIM efforts by providing program equipment, personnel, or 

further research. 

Common challenges related to TIM program resources and funding include the following: 

• Limited r Limited resources and esources and esources and funding. unding. unding. TIM is just one among many competing claims for limited 

transportation resources. Transportation funding from Federal and State levels pits TIM 

needs against more traditional, better-understood activities such as interstate construction, 

pavement rehabilitation, and transit improvements. Securing TIM resources within 

transportation agencies is especially difficult. Frequently, transportation personnel assigned 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 68

to TIM duties have other full-time responsibilities in maintenance, traffic engineering, or ITS. 

Further, transportation emergency management is often distinct from TIM in organizational 

and reporting terms although these activities are most often carried out by the same people 

at the field operational level. (65) As a result, it can be very difficult to isolate how much 

money is currently being spent on TIM personnel and equipment agency-wide, which 

impedes the ability to make a solid argument for increasing allocations. 

• Inadequate o Inadequate outreach to utreach to utreach to executives. xecutives. xecutives. Although TIM addresses issues that are of concern to 

the motoring public—congestion and travel delay, public health and safety, the Nation’s 

economic health, energy savings, public safety resources, responder safety, and citizen 

satisfaction with government services—few elected or appointed decision makers at all levels 

of government have made TIM a priority. Decision makers are subject to scrutiny from the 

public at large, who have grown more conscious of transportation issues at the same time 

that they have become increasingly wary of new or higher taxes in any form. To effectively 

encourage investment in TIM by decision makers, the associated benefits of TIM programs 

need to be succinctly and strongly articulated and promoted. 

Table 12 identifies the various tools and strategies that have proven effective in overcoming each of 

these challenges and identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Note 

that additional tools and strategies that were more variable in their reported effectiveness—including

cost recovery mechanisms and TIM requirements in new construction contracts—are included in 

appendix C. 

Table 12. Program resources and funding challenges, strategies, 

and select implementation locations. 

PROGRAM RESOURCES PROGRAM RESOURCES 

AND FUNDING AND FUNDING 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Limited Resources/

FundingInadequate Outreach to Executives

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Dedicated, Ongoing Funding Dedicated, Ongoing Funding ing Funding  CA, MD, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region) CA, MD, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region) 

Guidelines for Federal/State Funding 

Sources Sources 



FL (Orlando) FL (Orlando), WI 

Metropolitan Planning Organization 

Partnerships Partnerships 



FL, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), TN (Chattanooga), 

TX (Austin) TX (Austin) 

TIM Strategic Plan TIM Strategic Plan  FL, GA (Atlanta), KY, TN, TX (Austin) FL, GA (Atlanta), KY, TN, TX (Austin) (Atlanta), KY, TN, TX (Austin) 

Efficient/Effective TIM Resource 

Management Management 



MD (Baltimore) MD (Baltimore) 

Executive Outreach Materials/Events Executive Outreach Materials/Events 

 

GA (Atlanta), GA (Atlanta),National Volunteer Fire Council ( National Volunteer Fire Council ( National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) 

Cost Savings Calculators Cost Savings Calculators ost Savings Calculators 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Dedicated, o Dedicated, ongoing funding. unding. unding. Although dedicated, ongoing funding cannot be viewed as a 

panacea to address TIM challenges, its benefits in maintaining and expanding successful 

TIM programs should not be overlooked: 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 69

o Incident management personnel in Baltimore, MD, emphasized the importance of 

dedicated, ongoing funding, noting that its availability in their State protects their TIM 

program from district-level budget cuts. 

o Dedicated funding made available through the DVRPC’s Office of Transportation 

Operations Management provides committed staff to manage their five active regional 

TIM task forces in the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

As noted previously, TIM duties are often performed concurrently by personnel from different 

agencies and the private sector, as well as different divisions within single agencies. This 

program structure challenges the ability to accurately assess and dedicate a funding stream 

for ongoing operations. Service patrols—able to operate as more of a stand-alone program—

provide an exception and are often included as a separate line item in State or local budgets. 

Uniquely in California, service patrols are supported with combined Federal, State, and local 

funds, with local funds originating from a $1 annual vehicle registration fee in participating 

counties. 

• Guidelines for Federal/State f Guidelines for Federal/State funding sources. ources. ources. By far, the largest source of Federal funding 

for TIM is the Federal-aid program under which Congress appropriates Federal dollars to 

various transportation categories (i.e., safety, congestion management, etc.) and distributes 

these funds to States according to a funding formula. The States, with approval from the 

various MPOs, must then decide how the Federal-aid dollars are spent. The Federal 

Government also provides States with grants to fund their transportation programs, including 

TIM. From the State level, monies may then be passed on to local governments, depending 

on the needs and circumstances. State or local grant recipients may be required to provide 

matching resources and agree to various stipulations regarding what the funds may be spent 

on, how the program will be managed, and how the recipient will report to the sponsor. 

Historically, funds to support TIM have originated from the National Highway System, 

Interstate Maintenance, Surface Transportation, CMAQ, Research and Technology 

Innovation, and Highway Safety (402) programs. 

With the multitude of potential Federal and State funding sources—each having explicit 

conditions for eligibility and use—guidelines that address funding opportunities, 

requirements, and limitations in the context of TIM could provide benefit to TIM program 

administrators seeking to develop, expand, or enhance TIM efforts. 

An increased awareness of funding opportunities coupled with a little creativity can serve to 

maximize potential investments. Consider the following examples: 

o Recognizing that the response time to incidents in Orlando, FL, was above the State 

average, the Florida Department of Transportation agreed to fund 20 Florida Highway 

Patrol troopers with a dedicated TIM focus. (6)

o The Wisconsin Department of Transportation developed a multi-agency (including towing 

and recovery) procurement list that allows TIM members to purchase traffic control 

equipment at a quantity discount. Two low-bid vendors were selected for a 1-yr 

extendable contract. Member agencies contact the vendors directly to order. (6)

• Metropolitan p Metropolitan planning lanning lanning organization rganization rganization partnerships. artnerships. artnerships. Metropolitan planning organizations 

provide a unique opportunity to support TIM through their distinctive role in facilitating 

regional planning and programming decisions, providing a forum for cooperative decision 

making, working toward regional consensus, developing regional and institutional 

agreements, serving as a repository for comprehensive data, etc. Nearly 400 MPOs currently 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 70

exist in the United States, concentrated in urban areas with populations greater than 

50,000. 

In recent years, MPOs have been encouraged to assume a greater and more consistent role 

in a broader range of management and operations (M&O) activities, including TIM, and 

recognize that more effort needs to be made in helping TIM agencies achieve their goals. 

Despite this direction, the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) 

observed in a 2003 survey that, while 65.91 percent of MPOs included M&O programs or 

strategies in their long-range transportation plans, this inclusion was “ad hoc” in 29 percent 

of the cases. Similarly, 63.64 percent of MPOs reported inclusion of M&O programs or 

strategies in their transportation improvement programs. When prompted to detail the 

nature of their M&O programs or strategies, TIM activities were reported by only 22.73 

percent of MPOs, suggesting an inadequate level of priority and/or integration of TIM into the 

planning process. (114)

Partnering with MPOs can help to elevate awareness of TIM as a viable transportation 

investment and can support long-term integration of TIM into regional planning and 

programming decisions. Several examples of successful MPO partnerships exist from across 

the Nation: 

o In Florida, TIM agency leaders routinely meet with MPO governing boards to secure 

additional funding, including funding to support personnel training efforts. (6)

o The MPO (DVRPC) actually leads the various TIM task forces in the Delaware Valley 

region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, ensuring an active partnership. (6) TIM programs 

have been incorporated into DVPRC’s Transportation Operations Master Plan and the 

long-range Connections 2035: The Regional Plan for a Sustainable Future. 

o In Chattanooga, TN, initial leadership to establish a local TIM team originated from the 

Chattanooga MPO. (9)

o In Austin, TX, a representative from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 

(CAMPO) is an active participant in the AIMHigh Team. As a result of this involvement, 

the region was successful in securing $2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act 2009 funds to reinstate a service patrol program along the I-35 corridor. In addition, 

TIM programs have been newly incorporated into CAMPO’s 2035 Regional 

Transportation Plan. 

• TIM strategic trategic trategic plan. Unlike a TIM response plan focused on defining the multidisciplinary 

actions taken in response to an incident event, a TIM strategic plan considers broader, longterm TIM program development. For a given locale, a TIM strategic plan most often 

establishes local program goals and objectives, response challenges and needs, potential 

strategies for improvement, and a short- to long-term implementation plan. Strategic plans 

focused on TIM should be developed through consensus of all affected agencies and private 

companies. A TIM strategic plan can not only provide focus for ongoing program 

performance monitoring, but can improve agency relations and can help to garner additional 

program support. 

Examples of effective TIM strategic plans include the following: 

o In Florida, the Statewide Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Strategic Plan was 

developed to identify programs and actions to sustain the commitment to and expand 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 71

the TIM program to better meet traveler needs. The plan is available in four formats: the 

strategic plan, an executive summary, a more detailed plan summary, and a very detailed 

reference document. (6)

o In Georgia, the TIME Task Force developed an executive-level Strategic Vision that 

describes methods to achieve measurable TIM improvements that can have an 

immediate, substantial, and lasting impact on reducing nonrecurring congestion based 

on a review of regional issues and national best practices. (6)

o The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet—with input from FHWA, State and local law 

enforcement, emergency management, and other agencies—developed a statewide 

Highway Incident Management Strategic Plan that includes the mission, goals, 

objectives, and implementation timeline for 49 prioritized action strategies. (115)

o Nevada’s TIM Coalition developed a Strategic Actions Plan that included a new vision for 

institutional integration; an overall TIM mission and related goals and objectives; 

coalition responsibilities, proposed projects to support TIM efforts, and estimated 

program costs. (6)

o State personnel from the Tennessee Departments of Transportation, Safety, Commerce 

and Insurance, and Emergency Management cooperatively developed and adopted—

through a four-department resolution—a TIM strategic plan. The statewide plan 

considers four geographic regions, each staffed with a TIM coordinator and responsible 

for incident reporting. (65)

o In Texas, the Austin-Area Incident Management for Highways (AIMHigh) Traffic Incident 

Management Strategic Plan was cooperatively developed by representatives from law 

enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, transportation, towing and recovery, and other 

agencies and is intended to direct long-term, sustainable TIM investment and 

development. (116) The Strategic Plan describes the general mission, goals, and 

objectives for the AIMHigh program; current status of TIM operations in the greater Austin 

area, including key stakeholders, supporting resources, operational challenges, and 

recent improvements; proposed tools and strategies to specifically address outstanding 

operational and institutional challenges and further enhance TIM operations; associated 

implementation requirements for the proposed TIM tools and strategies, including 

identification of lead agencies and estimated initial and ongoing costs; and next steps to 

ensure ongoing TIM improvements in the greater Austin area. 

• Efficient/effective TIM resource management. Effic Efficient/effective TIM resource management. ient and effective TIM resource 

management relies upon the utilization of appropriate personnel who are best qualified (i.e., 

capable but not overqualified) for the various tasks, appropriate equipment by function (i.e., 

use of the least costly equipment capable of performing the function), and appropriate 

technology capable of supporting various on-site resource tasks (described previously under 

Technology), as well as a reduction in overall resources required through reduced 

redundancy across disciplines. 

When personnel who are capable but not overqualified are assigned to various tasks, 

uniquely trained personnel can focus on other TIM functions. For example, the use of 

transportation personnel to manage traffic at and around the incident scene would relieve 

law enforcement personnel from this duty and allow them to perform other tasks for which 

they are trained (i.e., crash investigation). Similarly, a higher level of efficiency and equal or 

higher effectiveness may be obtained by using a transportation vehicle equipped with an 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 72

arrow board and additional traffic control devices to protect the scene rather than law 

enforcement or fire and rescue vehicles. 

As noted previously with respect to training, commonalities in responder competencies allow 

various TIM functions to be performed by personnel from multiple agencies, with varying 

degrees of efficiency and effectiveness. For example, personnel from each agency are 

capable of providing scene protection, initial medical care, and limited documentation. With 

the exception of EMS personnel, personnel from each agency are capable of providing 

temporary traffic control, limited firefighting, and cleanup. Transportation and law 

enforcement personnel are each capable of mobilizing extra response, providing traveler 

information via DMS or through media contacts, modifying traffic signal timings, and 

removing the vehicle from the roadway. Fire and rescue and transportation personnel are 

each capable of mitigating minor vehicle fluid leaks. Fewer commonalities in equipment 

function are observed between the various TIM response agencies. Certain fire and rescue 

vehicles are equipped to provide advanced medical care, similar to EMS vehicles. Both law 

enforcement and transportation vehicles are often equipped with push bumpers for quickly 

removing vehicles from the travel lanes or shoulder. Additionally, law enforcement, fire and 

rescue, and transportation agencies commonly carry various hand tools in their vehicles to 

support debris removal and cleanup. The most pronounced commonality is the use of each 

agency’s vehicles for scene protection. A concerted effort can be made to identify potential 

overlap in personnel competencies and equipment function and reduce potential 

redundancies in operations. 

As reported in FHWA’s Traffic Incident Management Resource Management Primer,

accessible at http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08060/fhwahop08060.pdf, the 

cost savings attributable to more efficient and effective TIM resource management is not 

trivial. (117) Results indicate a cost savings of between $215.81 and $364.59 per incident 

through the use of appropriate personnel and a reduction in the monetary value of 

equipment exposed to potential damage of up to $2.02 million per incident through the use 

of more appropriate equipment and/or technology. Reduced redundancy in resources is 

estimated to save $793.97 per incident in personnel costs and decrease the monetary value 

of equipment exposed to potential damage of up to $1.45 million per incident. 

Incident management personnel in Stockton, CA, noted that TIM functional limitations 

imposed on transportation personnel in their locale (i.e., transportation personnel are 

prevented from performing certain TIM functions by agency policy) preclude a more extensive 

use of this strategy and a higher level of effectiveness. Conversely, TIM personnel in 

Baltimore, MD, reported some success in achieving more efficient and effective TIM resource 

management, citing significant benefits attributable to the coordination of information from 

multiple agencies afforded through the use of technology and the ability to provide other 

agencies with resources that they may not otherwise be able to access. 

• Executive outreach materials Executive outreach materials aterials/events. To secure program resources and funding, TIM 

administrators need to promote their programs among key decision makers and the public at 

large, to whom decision makers ultimately report. Although this group includes mayors, city 

and county council members, governors, members of Congress, and special district 

representatives, State legislators usually have the greatest ability to directly influence an 

agency’s operation through its budget and through legislative review or oversight. State 

legislators review the operation of agencies and have the authority to set budget and staffing 

levels. Programs that are demonstrated to be in high demand fare better in the decisionmaking process. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 73

To support this effort, various types of outreach materials targeting State legislators (or other 

decision makers) can be developed to strongly yet succinctly convey the importance of TIM. 

Letters of thanks sent by people who have been assisted in the field can be particularly 

useful in this capacity. In addition, TIM administrators can invite key decision makers to ride 

along with response personnel to observe day-to-day operations or involve them in more 

extensive TIM program scanning tours to observe successful operations in other locales. 

The popular HERO service patrol in Atlanta, GA, clearly illustrates the success of this 

approach. As a highly visible element of the broader TIM program, the Georgia Department 

of Transportation is deluged with letters of appreciation from motorists for its service. The 

public support and positive publicity that the HERO program has garnered put pressure on 

politicians and policymakers to sustain and develop the program and offer security for other, 

less visible elements of the TIM program by association. (118)

In a unique development effort, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) developed Cost 

Savings Calculators for volunteer fire and rescue and EMS agencies, intended to estimate 

the economic savings attributable to these volunteer agencies. Companion resources, 

including related studies and a customizable PowerPoint presentation, assisted in 

demonstrating and justifying the need for increased community and governmental support. 

The Cost Savings Calculators and companion resources, with restricted access for NVFC 

members, can be downloaded from the NVFC website, accessible at http://www.nvfc.org/

page/801/Cost_Savings_Calculators.htm. 

(119)

Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 75

CONCLUDING REMARKS CONCLUDING REMARKS 

The intent of this investigation was to encourage a higher level of effectiveness in TIM activities 

through the identification of current “best practices” in the United States and a synergistic 

partnership with NTIMC to support both the identification of U.S. best practices and the 

implementation of these practices by State, regional, and local TIM partners. 

Best Practice TIM Tools and Strategies Best Practice TIM Tools and Strategies 

In response to common task-specific and cross-cutting challenges and impediments to TIM efforts 

identified in the United States, a number of potential tools and strategies for improving TIM efforts 

were identified through a review of various published and electronic information sources and input 

from TIM practitioners representing law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, transportation, and 

towing and recovery agencies in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New 

Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington. 

Task-specific tools and strategies generally reported to be most effective in enhancing TIM efforts 

include the following: 

• Detection and verification: 

o Field verification by on-site responders and CCTV cameras to support confirmation of 

incident occurrence and enhance the assessment of incident needs and the subsequent 

dispatch of appropriate personnel and resources to the scene. 

o Frequent or enhanced roadway reference markers and enhanced 9-1-1/automated 

positioning systems to support accurate identification of incident location by motorists or 

response personnel. 

o In rural areas, motorist aid call boxes and ACNS to speed detection. 

• Traveler information: 

o 5-1-1 systems, traveler information websites, and media partnerships to enhance the 

provision of traveler information to motorists who are primarily off-site in an effort to 

reduce traffic demand at the incident scene. 

o Dynamic message signs and associated standardized DMS message sets and use 

protocol to enhance the provision of traveler information to motorists who are 

approaching the incident scene, including the consistency with which traveler information 

is presented. 

• Response: 

o Personnel and equipment resource lists and TRAA’s Vehicle Identification Guide to 

support the dispatch of appropriate resources to the incident scene. 

o Instant tow dispatch procedures and towing and recovery zone-based contracts to speed 

response to the incident scene by towing and recovery personnel through expedited 

dispatch and reduced travel distances. 

o Enhanced CAD, dual or optimized dispatch procedures, and motorcycle patrols to speed 

response to the incident scene by public safety personnel through reduced travel 

distances and increased maneuverability in congested conditions. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 76

o Equipment staging areas and pre-positioned equipment to enhance availability of and 

reduce wait time for specialty equipment that may be slow to mobilize and to improve 

access to and speed deployment of supporting equipment, such as traffic control 

devices. 

• Scene management and traffic control: 

o The ICS to reduce confusion over on-scene authority and provide a unified command 

structure for decision making. 

o Response vehicle parking plans to enhance on-scene maneuverability. 

o High-visibility safety apparel and vehicle markings, on-scene emergency lighting 

procedures, and safe, quick clearance Move Over laws that require motorists 

approaching an incident to reduce speed and/or change lanes to enhance responder 

safety at the scene. 

o Effective traffic control through on-site traffic management teams and end-of-queue 

advance warning systems to provide advance warning of a downstream incident or 

associated congestion and subsequently reduce the occurrence of secondary incidents. 

o Alternate route plans to effectively reduce excess delay. 

• Quick clearance and recovery: 

o Abandoned vehicle legislation/policy to expedite the clearance of abandoned vehicles 

from the roadway right-of-way and minimize the risk for abandoned-vehicle-involved 

secondary incidents. 

o Safe, quick clearance Driver Removal laws, service patrols, vehicle-mounted push 

bumpers, and incident investigation sites to speed the clearance of minor incidents by 

either the involved motorists or response personnel. 

o Safe, quick clearance Authority Removal laws, quick clearance/open roads policy, noncargo vehicle fluid discharge policy, fatality certification/removal policy, and quick 

clearance using fire apparatus to speed the clearance of major incidents through the 

provision of common clearance goals, the authority to take appropriate action, and 

protection against liability for those actions. 

o Expedited crash investigation to speed the clearance of major incidents involving a 

fatality or other suspicious circumstances requiring additional information gathering at 

the incident scene. 

o Towing and recovery quick clearance incentives to speed the clearance of major 

incidents through the provision of financial rewards and or penalties tied to performance 

for participating towing and recovery agencies. 

o Major incident response teams to speed the clearance of major incidents through a high 

level of familiarity among the various team members and their authority to mobilize the 

necessary personnel and equipment to respond. 

These tools and strategies, including their functional area of primary impact and select 

implementation locations, are summarized in table 13. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 77

Table 13. Task-specific strategies and select implementation locations. 

TASK-SPECIFIC SPECIFIC SPECIFIC 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Detection/Verification

Traveler InformationResponseScene Management/Traffic ControlQuick Clearance/Recovery

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Field Verification by On- Field Verification by On-Site Responders Site Responders Site Responders  NY (Hudson Valley Region) NY (Hudson Valley Region) NY (Hudson Valley Region) 

Closed- Closed-Circuit Television Cameras Circuit Television Cameras Circuit Television Cameras  76+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, MD 76+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, MD 76+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, MD 

Frequent/Enhanced Roadway Reference 

Markers Markers 

 

FL, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), OH, 

TN 

Enhanced 9- Enhanced 9-1-1/ 

Automated Positioning Systems Automated Positioning Systems 

 TX (San Antonio) TX (San Antonio) San Antonio) 

Motorist Aid Call Boxes Motorist Aid Call Boxes  27+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, GA 27+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, GA 27+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, GA 

Automated Collision Notification Systems  16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, NY (Erie Co.) 16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, NY (Erie Co.) 16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, NY (Erie Co.) 

5-1-1 Systems 1 Systems 1 Systems  33+ States 33+ States 33+ States 

Traveler Information Websites Traveler Information Websites  39+ States 39+ States 39+ States 

Media Partnerships Media Partnerships rtnerships  53+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 53+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 53+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Dynamic Message Signs Dynamic Message Signs 

81+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA 

(Stockton) (Stockton) 

Standardized DMS Message Sets/ Standardized DMS Message Sets/ 

Use Protocol Use Protocol 

  

73+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, TX (Austin, 

San Antonio) San Antonio) 

Personnel/Equipment Resource Lists Personnel/Equipment Resource Lists  75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Towing and Recovery Vehicle 

Identification Guide 

 

NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), TX 

(Austin) (Austin) 

Instant Tow Dispatch Procedures Instant Tow Dispatch Procedures  WA (Seattle) WA (Seattle) 

Towing and Recovery Zone- Towing and Recovery Zone-Based 

Contracts Contracts 

  TX (Houston) TX (Houston) 

Enhanced Computer Enhanced Computer ed Computer-Aided Dispatch Aided Dispatch Aided Dispatch  

43+ Agencies in 43+ Agencies in Agencies in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, U.S. Metropolitan Areas, 

CA (Los CA (LosAngeles), NM (Albuquerque), Angeles), NM (Albuquerque), Angeles), NM (Albuquerque), 

TN (Sequatchie Co.) TN (Sequatchie Co.) 

Dual/Optimized Dispatch Procedures Dual/Optimized Dispatch Procedures  NJ 

Motorcycle Patrols Motorcycle Patrols  All or Nearly U.S. Metropolitan Areas All or Nearly U.S. Metropolitan Areas U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Equipment Staging Areas/ Equipment Staging Areas/ ng Areas/ 

Pre-positioned Equipment positioned Equipment positioned Equipment 

  TN, WI 

Incident Command System Incident Command System  58+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, WA 58+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, WA 58+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, WA 

Response Vehicle Parking Plans Response Vehicle Parking Plans  

AZ (Phoenix), CO (Lakewood), IA, MI 

(Farmington), TX (Lancaster) (Farmington), TX (Lancaster) 

High-Visibility Safety Apparel/ Visibility Safety Apparel/ Visibility Safety Apparel/ 

Vehicle Markings Vehicle Markings Markings 

  CO (Eagle) CO (Eagle) CO (Eagle) 

On-Scene Emergency Lighting cene Emergency Lighting 

Procedures Procedures 

  TX (Austin, San Antonio) TX (Austin, San Antonio) 

Safe, Quick Clearance Laws—Move Over  47 States, 47 States, 47 States, including including including CA, FL, GA, IN, TN CA, FL, GA, IN, TN CA, FL, GA, IN, TN 

Effective Traffic Control Through Effective Traffic Control Through 

On-Site Traffic Management Teams Site Traffic Management Teams Site Traffic Management Teams 

  CA (Stockton), FL (Southeast), NJ CA (Stockton), FL (Southeast), NJ CA (Stockton), FL (Southeast), NJ 

End-of-Queue Advance Warning Systems Queue Advance Warning Systems 

CA (Bishop, Los Angeles, Redding, 

Stockton), NJ (Camden), TN (Chattanooga), 

UT (Salt Lake City) UT (Salt Lake City) 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 78

Table 13. Task-specific strategies and select implementation locations (continued). 

TASK-SPECIFIC SPECIFIC SPECIFIC 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Detection/Verification

Traveler InformationResponseScene Management/Traffic ControlQuick Clearance/Recovery

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Alternate Route Plans Alternate Route Plans 

62+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA 

(Anaheim), FL (Northeast), ME/NH, NJ/PA (Anaheim), FL (Northeast), ME/NH, NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region), WI (Delaware Valley Region), WI 

Abandoned Vehicle Legislation/Policy Abandoned Vehicle Legislation/Policy  21+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, IN, NC 21+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, IN, NC 

Safe, Quick Clearance Laws— Safe, Quick Clearance Laws—Driver 

Removal 

 

~25 States, including ~25 States, including including FL, GA, MD, NC, OH, FL, GA, MD, NC, OH, 

SC, TN, TX, VA, WI SC, TN, TX, VA, WI 

Service Patrols Service Patrols 

130+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, AZ 130+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, AZ 

(Phoenix), CA, FL, GA (Atlanta), IN, MD, 

MN, NM (Albuquerque), OR, TN, UT (Salt 

Lake City) Lake City) 

Vehicle- Vehicle-Mounted Push Bumpers Mounted Push Bumpers Mounted Push Bumpers 

CA (Redding, Stockton), MD (Baltimore), 

NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), OH 

(Cincinnati), TN (Chattanooga), TX (Austin), (Cincinnati), TN (Chattanooga), TX (Austin), 

UT (Salt Lake City) UT (Salt Lake City) 

Incident Investigation Sites Incident Investigation Sites  16+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, TX (Houston) 

Safe, Quick Clearance Laws— Safe, Quick Clearance Laws—Authority 

Removal 

 

AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MO, NM, NC, 

OH, OR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA OH, OR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA 

Quick Clearance/Open Roads Policy Quick Clearance/Open Roads Policy ce/Open Roads Policy 

35+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, CA, FL, GA, 

ID, IN, LA, MD, NV, NH, TN, UT, WA, WI ID, IN, LA, MD, NV, NH, TN, UT, WA, WI 

Non-cargo Vehicle Fluid Discharge Policy cargo Vehicle Fluid Discharge Policy  FL, MN 

Fatality Certification/Removal Policy Fatality Certification/Removal Policy  PA, TN, TX (Austin), WA PA, TN, TX (Austin), WA 

Expedited Crash Investigation Expedited Crash Investigation 

93+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas, FL, IN, TX 

(North Central Region), UT (North Central Region), UT 

Quick Clearance Using Fire Apparatus Quick Clearance Using Fire Apparatus  TX (Austin) TX (Austin) 

Towing and Recovery Quick Clearance 

Incentives Incentives 

  FL, GA, WA FL, GA, WA 

Major Incident Response Teams Major Incident Response Teams 

DE, FL, IL (Chicago), LA, MD, NJ, OH DE, FL, IL (Chicago), LA, MD, NJ, OH 

(Cincinnati, Columbus), NY, TX (Dallas Co.), 

WA 

Tools and strategies generally reported to be most effective in addressing cross-cutting TIM 

challenges include the following: 

• Agency relations: 

o Routine, periodic “TIM team” meetings to encourage ongoing dialogue among TIM 

responders, increasing awareness of priorities and roles. 

o Joint agency/jurisdictional protocols and traffic/emergency management centers to 

formalize agency relations and respective roles in TIM and to demonstrate commitment 

through common resource/facility investments. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 79

• Training: 

o National TIM training and information clearinghouses/communities of practice to support 

information dissemination and exchange among various response agencies involved in 

TIM regarding national best practices. 

o Local multidisciplinary TIM training and associated tabletop exercises/scenarios and 

after-action reviews/debriefings to encourage joint and effective training among 

responders and improved TIM operations at the local level. 

o Multidisciplinary TIM response plan/operating procedures to formalize recommended 

actions in support of future TIM training efforts, enhanced TIM responder competency, 

and consistent TIM operations. 

o TIM personnel certifications/training requirements to support enhanced TIM responder 

competency and consistent TIM operations. 

• Communications: 

o Common mutual-aid frequency/channel, alternative communications devices, wireless 

information networks, and an associated standardized communications 

terminology/protocol to enhance en-route and on-scene communications among 

responders from different agencies. 

o Mobile unified communications vehicle to enhance en-route and on-scene 

communications among responders from different agencies for major incidents and 

emergencies. 

• Technology: 

o Expedited standards development process and standards requirements for State 

procurement to facilitate/encourage the use of standards and subsequently enhance 

system and component interoperability and minimize life-cycle costs of investments. 

• Performance measurement: 

o National performance measurement guidance to lend consistency and consensus to TIM 

performance metrics at the State and program levels. 

o Annual TIM self-assessment to support identification of TIM strengths and weaknesses 

and subsequent activities and initiatives to encourage continued TIM improvements at 

the national, State, and program levels. 

o Strong funding and performance link to ensure that the effectiveness of TIM programs 

can be demonstrated and that TIM programs subsequently receive adequate attention in 

prioritization of projects for funding. 

o Multi-agency data exchange protocol to enhance data sharing and accessibility in 

support of TIM performance measurement activities. 

• Program resources and funding: 

o Dedicated, ongoing funding, guidelines for federal/state funding sources, MPO 

partnerships, and an associated TIM strategic plan to ensure ongoing access to program 

resources and funding. 

o Efficient/effective TIM resource management to encourage optimum use of existing TIM 

resources. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 80

o Executive outreach materials/events to ensure that the effectiveness of TIM programs is 

adequately demonstrated to decision makers and that TIM programs subsequently 

receive adequate attention in prioritization of projects for funding. 

These tools and strategies, including their institutional area of primary impact and select 

implementation locations, are summarized in table 14. 

Additional tools and strategies, infrequently or inconsistently observed to be effective, are included in 

“Appendix B: Additional Task-Specific Strategies” and “Appendix C: Additional Cross-Cutting 

Strategies” for supplemental reference. 

Table 14. Cross-cutting strategies and select implementation locations. 

CROSS-CUTTING CUTTING CUTTING 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Agency Relations

TrainingCommunicationsTechnologyPerformance MeasurementProgram Resources/Funding

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Routine, Periodic “ Routine, Periodic “TIM Team TIM Team TIM Team” Meetings Meetings Meetings  

GA (Atlanta), MI (Detroit), NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region), TX (Austin), 

WA, WI 

Joint Agency/Jurisdictional Protocols Joint Agency/Jurisdictional Protocols  FL (Southeast), WA FL (Southeast), WA 

Joint Traffic/Emergency Management 

Center 

 

FL, GA (Atlanta), IL (Chicago), NY 

(Hudson Valley Region, New York), RI, (Hudson Valley Region, New York), RI, 

TX (Austin), UT (Salt Lake City) TX (Austin), UT (Salt Lake City) 

National TIM Training National TIM Training 

NHI, DHS (NIMS), CITE, Traffic 

Incident Management Systems 

Information Clearinghouses/ 

Communities of Practice Communities of Practice 

  

NTIMC, ResponderSafety.com, I- NTIMC, ResponderSafety.com, I-95 

Quick Clearance Toolkit, IACP Quick Clearance Toolkit, IACP 

Technology Clearinghouse, IAFC 

Vehicle Safety Resources, FL 

(Southwest), GA, IN, NV, NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region), NY, WA, WI (Delaware Valley Region), NY, WA, WI 

Local Multidisciplinary TIM Training Local Multidisciplinary TIM Training 

AZ, FL, GA, IN, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, 

OR, TX (Dallas, Ft. Worth), VA, WA, WI OR, TX (Dallas, Ft. Worth), VA, WA, WI 

Tabletop Exercises/Scenarios Tabletop Exercises/Scenarios  NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), MD NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), MD 

After-Action Reviews/Debriefings Action Reviews/Debriefings Action Reviews/Debriefings 

FL, ME/NH, GA, NV, NJ/PA (Delaware 

Valley Region), TX (Austin), WI Valley Region), TX (Austin), WI 

Multidisciplinary TIM Response 

Plan/Operating Procedures Plan/Operating Procedures 

 

AZ, CT, ME/NH, MA, MN, NJ/PA AZ, CT, ME/NH, MA, MN, NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region), NY, NC, OH, 

TX (Austin, San Antonio), WI TX (Austin, San Antonio), WI 

TIM Personnel Certifications/Training 

Requirements Requirements 

  

TRAA, GA, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley 

Region), NY (Hudson Valley Region), 

VA 

Common Mutual- Common Mutual-Aid Frequency/Channel Aid Frequency/Channel  ME/NH 

Alternative Communications Devices Alternative Communications Devices  WI 

Wireless Information Networks Wireless Information Networks 

AR, DC/MD/VA, IL, MA (Westford), 

MS 

Mobile Unified Communications Vehicle Mobile Unified Communications Vehicle  IL (Chicago), OR (Tillamook Co.) IL (Chicago), OR (Tillamook Co.) 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 81

Table 14. Cross-cutting strategies and select implementation locations (continued). 

CROSS-CUTTING CUTTING CUTTING 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Agency Relations

TrainingCommunicationsTechnologyPerformance MeasurementProgram Resources/Funding

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Standardized Communications 

Terminology/Protocol Terminology/Protocol 

 

75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

(Resource Lists), 58+ U.S. 

Metropolitan Areas (ICS), 

IEEE/GJXDM IEEE/GJXDM 

Expedited Standards Development 

Process Process 

 

Law Enforcement Information 

Technology Standards Council (CAD 

Systems) Systems) 

Standards Requirements for State 

Procurement Procurement 

  FHWA (ITS) FHWA (ITS) 

National Performance Measurement 

Guidance Guidance 

 

TIM FSI, TIM Performance 

Measurement Knowledge 

Management System/Listserv Management System/Listserv 

Annual TIM Self Annual TIM Self TIM Self-Assessment Assessment Assessment  75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 75+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas 

Strong Funding and Performance Link Strong Funding and Performance Link  MD, WA 

Multi-agency Data Exchange Protocol agency Data Exchange Protocol agency Data Exchange Protocol 

CA (San Diego), CO (El Paso/Teller 

Co.), NV (Clark Co.), TX (Ft. Worth), 

UT, WA UT, WA 

Dedicated, Ongoing Funding Dedicated, Ongoing Funding  CA, MD, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley 

Region) Region) 

Guidelines for Federal/State Funding 

Sources Sources 

  Fl (Orlando), WI Fl (Orlando), WI 

Metropolitan Planning Organization 

Partnerships Partnerships 

  FL, NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), 

TN (Chattanooga), TX (Austin) TN (Chattanooga), TX (Austin) 

TIM Strategic Plan TIM Strategic Plan  FL, GA (Atlanta), KY, TN, TX (Austin) FL, GA (Atlanta), KY, TN, TX (Austin) 

Efficient/Effective TIM Resource 

Management Management 

  MD (Baltimore) MD (Baltimore) 

Executive Outreach Materials/Events Executive Outreach Materials/Events  GA (Atlanta), NVFC Cost Savings 

Calculators Calculators 

Implementation Implementation 

When considering the myriad of task-specific and cross-cutting tools and strategies identified in this

document, note that in some cases, select TIM tools and strategies must operate concurrently to 

fully realize the benefits to operations (e.g., DMS and standardized DMS message sets/use 

protocol). In addition, this investigation did not consider cost in relation to effectiveness. Low- or nocost tools or strategies with moderate reported or observed effectiveness may prove to be better 

implementation options than higher-cost strategies with the same or potentially higher benefits. 

Consequently, additional information gathering is recommended prior to implementation. 

At a local, regional, or State level, TIM administrative or operations personnel considering 

implementation of a particular tool or strategy can refer to the appropriate references for published 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 82

findings cited in this document or contact TIM practitioners participating in this investigation directly 

by telephone or email to obtain more information. 

The tools and strategies described in the main body of this report include those that are most 

commonly and consistently reported to be effective. For those additional tools and strategies 

infrequently or inconsistently observed to be effective (included in appendix B and appendix C), 

experiences that resulted in a low relative effectiveness rating may be of most interest to TIM 

administrative or operations personnel considering implementation of a specific tool or strategy, 

particularly if others have reported only positive experiences. Identification of potential pitfalls early 

in the implementation stage can help to ensure that the same shortcomings are not propagated and 

that the full effectiveness of TIM efforts can be realized. 

At a national level, NTIMC, working in close cooperation with FHWA, provides a unique forum for 

disseminating the information presented here directly through its website and through participation 

in various outreach activities and events. Stated goals of NTIMC include promoting and supporting 

the successful development and conduct of local, regional, and statewide TIM programs through 

peer networking, mentoring, and knowledge exchange among public safety and transportation 

professionals, and providing leadership in the development of multidisciplinary best practices, 

guides, standards, and performance measures in support of sound TIM activities. 

As evidenced by the wide range of observed and reported effectiveness for singular TIM tools and 

strategies among the various participating locales, longer-term efforts of NTIMC, again working in 

close cooperation with FHWA, should focus on standardizing practices to consistently maximize the 

effectiveness of TIM efforts. In many cases, this may require additional research to identify the local 

conditions related to the nature and extent of operation, maintenance, marketing, etc. that have a 

significant impact on the perceived or measured success of specific TIM efforts. More consistent 

implementation of TIM tools and strategies will enhance not only the cost-effectiveness of program 

operation but also its sustainability over time. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 83

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http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/eto_tim_pse/preparedness/tim/knowledgebase/index.htm. 

2010. 

103. Owens, Nicholas D., April H. Armstrong, Carol Mitchell, and Rebecca Brewster. Federal 

Highway Administration Focus States Initiative: Traffic Incident Management Performance 

Measures Final Report. FHWA-HOP-10-010. Federal Highway Administration, U.S. 

Department of Transportation. Washington, DC. 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop10010/fhwahop10010.pdf. December 2009. 

104. Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Performance 

Measurement: On the Road to Success. FHWA-HOP-10-009. U.S. Department of 

Transportation. Washington, DC. http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/

fhwahop10009/tim_fsi.pdf. February 2010. 

105. Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Performance 

Measurement Knowledge Management System. FHWA-HOP-10-011. U.S. Department of 

Transportation. Washington, DC. http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/

fhwahop10011/tim_kms.pdf. February 2010. 

106. Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Incident Management Self Assessment. 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/eto_tim_pse/preparedness/tim/self.htm. 2010. 

107. Science Applications International Corporation. Computer-Aided Dispatch—Traffic 

Management Center Field Operational Test Final Report: Washington State. U.S. 

Department of Transportation. Washington, DC. July 2006 

108. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Law Enforcement Tech Guide for 

Information Technology Security: How to Assess Risk and Establish Effective Policies. 

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/ric/ResourceDetail.aspx?RID=276. Department of Justice. 

February 2007. 

109. Owens, Nick, Mark Carter, Chuck Louisell, Robert Haas, Carol Mitchell, Leslie Jacobson, Joel 

Ticatch, John O’Laughlin, Jason Stribiak, Matthew Seal, and Douglas Parker. Computer-Aided 

Dispatch—Traffic Management Center Integration Field Operational Test Final Report: State 

of Utah. ITS Joint Program Office, U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC. July 

2006. 

110. Owens, Nick, Mark Carter, Chuck Louisell, Robert Haas, Carol Mitchell, Leslie Jacobson, Joel 

Ticatch, John O’Laughlin, Jason Stribiak, Matthew Seal, and Douglas Parker. Computer-Aided 

Dispatch—Traffic Management Center Integration Field Operational Test Final Report: State 

of Washington. ITS Joint Program Office, U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, 

DC. May 2006. 

111. Allred, K. Craig. “CAD and ITS Working in Concert.” Public Roads. November/December 

2003. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 90

112. Brooke, Ken, Kevin Dopart, Ted Smith, and Aimee Flannery. NCHRP Report 520: Sharing 

Information between Public Safety and Transportation Agencies for Traffic Incident 

Management. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research 

Board. Washington, DC. 2004. 

113. Business Wire. TriTech Software Systems Releases CAD-to-CAD Interoperability Guide (CIG) 

to Public Safety Industry. August 4, 2008. 

114. Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations. AMPO Survey Results: Planning and 

Operations. Washington D.C. December 2003. 

115. Barrett, Monica L., Joseph D. Crabtree, Jerry G. Pigman, and Jennifer R. Walton. Kentucky’s 

Highway Incident Management Strategic Plan. Kentucky Transportation Center, University of 

Kentucky and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. May 2005. 

116. Carson, Jodi L. Austin-Area Incident Management for Highways (AIMHigh) Traffic Incident 

Management Strategic Plan. Austin, TX. February 2010. 

117. Carson, Jodi L. Traffic Incident Management Resource Management Primer. FHWA-HOP-08-

060. Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC. 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08060/fhwahop08060.pdf. January 2009. 

118. Pearce, Vincent. Regional Traffic Incident Management Programs: Implementation Guide. 

FHWA-OP-01-002/FTA-TRI-11-00-03. FHWA ITS Joint Program Office and Federal Transit 

Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC. May 2001. 

119. National Volunteer Fire Council. National Volunteer Fire Council Cost Savings Calculators 

Website. http://www.nvfc.org/page/801/Cost_Savings_Calculators.htm. 2010. 

120. Traffic Engineers, Inc. Emergency Response Management System Study. Houston 

Metropolitan Transit Authority. April 1991. 

121. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. National Law Enforcement Officers 

Memorial Fund Website. http://www.nleomf.org/memorial. 2008. 

122. Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. Website. 

http://www.odmp.org/. 2008. 

123. National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System. National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting 

System. Website. http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/. 2008. 

124. Glassco, R., A. Proer, A. Salwin, and K. Wunderlich. Studies of Potential Intelligent 

Transportation Systems Benefits Using Traffic Simulation Modeling: Volume 2. Report No. 

MTR 1997-31. Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Washington, DC. June 1997. 

125. Sussman, Joseph. What Have We Learned About ITS? Report No. FHWA-OP-01-006. 

Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC. 

December 2000. 

126. Hoppers, K. P. Opening HOV Lanes to General Traffic during Major Incidents and Severe 

Weather Conditions. Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University. College Station, 

TX. August 1999. 

127. National Task Force on Interoperability. Why Can’t We Talk? Working Together to Bridge the 

Communications Gap to Save Lives—A Guide for Public Officials. 

http://www.iacptechnology.org/Communications/WhyCantWeTalk.pdf. February 2005. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 91

APPENDIX A APPENDIX A: TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL PERSONNEL 

CONTACTS CONTACTS 

Table 15. Traffic Incident Management Personnel Contacts. 

STATE 

METROPOLITAN 

AREA 

CONTACT CONTACT 

Arizona Statewide 

Jack Hegarty 

Lt. Colonel 

Arizona Highway Patrol 

jhegarty@azdps.gov

Statewide 

Lawrence Wooster, P.E. 

Chief, Incident Management Operations Branch 

Traffic Operations Division 

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) 

(916) 654-6104 

larry_wooster@dot.ca.gov

Bishop 

Sam Esquenazi 

Senior Transportation Engineer 

Transportation Management Team Supervisor

Los Angeles Terry Erlwein 

Traffic Operations Engineer 

Redding 

Mike Gunter 

Traffic Engineer, District 2 

(530) 225-3206 

mike_gunter@dot.ca.gov

Stockton Toni Moon 

California 

Windsor (North of 

San Francisco) 

Doug Williams 

Fire Chief 

Rincon Valley Fire Protection District 

(707) 539-1801 

dwilliams@rvfire.org 

Florida Statewide 

Grady T. Carrick 

Chief, Northern Regional Commander 

Florida Highway Patrol 

(904) 695-4096 

gradycarrick@flhsmv.gov

Maryland Baltimore 

Alvin Marquess 

Deputy Director of Operations 

Maryland State Highway Administration 

(410) 582-5677 

amarquess@sha.state.md.us 

Michigan Clarkston 

Bob Cesario 

Captain, EMS Coordinator 

Independence Fire Department 

(248) 625-5468 

bcesario@independencefire.us
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 92

Table 15. Traffic Incident Management Personnel Contacts (continued). 

STATE 

METROPOLITAN 

AREA 

CONTACT CONTACT 

Nevada 

Henderson 

(Southeast of 

Las Vegas) 

Brad Fuller 

Deputy Fire Chief 

City of Henderson 

(702) 267-2214 

bradley.fuller@cityofhenderson.com 

Dhanesh Motiani 

Director of Traffic Operations 

New Jersey Department of Transportation 

(609) 530-4690 

Dhanesh.Motiani@dot.state.nj.us New Jersey Statewide 

Jim Hogan 

Executive Director of Statewide Traffic Operations Office 

New Jersey Department of Transportation 

(609) 530-4690 

Jim.Hogan@dot.state.nj.us

Laurie Matkowski 

Senior Transportation Engineer 

DVRPC TIM Task Forces 

(215) 238-2853 

lmatkowski@dvrpc.org

Joseph A. Zito 

Sergeant of Police/Co-chair, DVRPC NJ TIM Task Force

Delaware River Port Authority Police 

(856) 969-7842 

jazito@drpa.org

New Jersey/ 

Pennsylvania

Delaware Valley 

Region 

William Robb 

Chief, Blackwood Fire Company 

Co-chair, DVRPC NJ TIM Task Force 

R3737at84@aol.com

New York New York 

Les Greenwood 

Program Coordinator of Highway Safety Program 

New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control

(518) 858-6877 

les.Greenwood@dos.state.ny.us 

Robert Hungler 

Lieutenant, Traffic Unit 

Cincinnati Police Department 

(513) 352-2514 

robert.hungler@cincinnati-oh.gov Ohio Cincinnati 

Susan Farver-Springer 

Admin. Asst. to Deputy Director 

Ohio Dept. of Transportation, District 8 

(513) 933-6531 

susan.springer@dot.state.oh.us 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 93

Table 15. Traffic Incident Management Personnel Contacts (continued). 

STATE 

METROPOLITAN 

AREA 

CONTACT CONTACT 

Tennessee Chattanooga 

Robert Van Horn 

Region 2 Incident Management Coordinator 

Tennessee Department of Transportation 

(423) 510-1168 

robert.vanhorn@state.tn.us 

Austin 

Brian Burk 

Engineer 

Texas Department of Transportation, Austin District

(512) 974-0899 

bburk@dot.state.tx.us 

Houston 

Jeanette Rash 

President, Fast Tow/SafeClear 

(281) 850-4001 

jeanette@jrash.com 

Texas 

North Central Region

Marian Thompson 

Transportation System Operations Supervisor 

Congestion Management and Systems Operation 

North Central Texas Council of Governments 

(817) 608-2336 

mthompson@nctcog.org 

Utah Salt Lake City 

David Kinnecom 

Traffic Management Engineer 

Utah Department of Transportation 

(801) 877-3707 

dkinnecom@msn.com 

Washington Bellevue (East of 

Seattle) 

Warren A. Merritt 

Deputy Fire Chief 

Bellevue Fire Department 

(425) 452-2016 

wmerritt@bellevuewa.gov 

Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 95

APPENDIX B: ADDITIONAL TASK- APPENDIX B: ADDITIONAL TASK-SPECIFIC SPECIFIC SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND CHALLENGES AND 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES 

For many of the individual tools and strategies intended to address task-specific challenges, a wide 

range of effectiveness was observed and/or reported by locale, suggesting that local conditions 

related to the nature and extent of operation, maintenance, marketing, etc. have a significant impact 

on the perceived or measured success of specific TIM efforts. Because of their potential to be 

effective under certain implementation scenarios, these additional tools and strategies—infrequently 

or inconsistently observed to be effective—are included here. 

Detection and Verification Detection and Verification 

Table 16 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to detection and verification and identifies select 

locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example locations 

reflect locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and ineffective 

to support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular tool or 

strategy’s performance. 

Table 16. Detection and verification challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

DETECTION AND VERIFICATION DETECTION AND VERIFICATION 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Slow Detection

Inconsistent NotificationInaccurate Incident ReportsDispatcher Overload

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Electronic Loop Detectors Electronic Loop Detectors ectronic Loop Detectors  

48+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas; 48+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas; Ineffective: MD Ineffective: MD 

(Baltimore), OH (Cincinnati), UT (Salt Lake 

City) 

Probe Vehicles Probe Vehicles  Ineffective: OH (Cincinnati) Ineffective: OH (Cincinnati) Ineffective: OH (Cincinnati) 

Incident Notification Protocol Incident Notification Protocol  Effective: FL, ME/NH; Ineffective: MD Effective: FL, ME/NH; Ineffective: MD Effective: FL, ME/NH; Ineffective: MD 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Electronic l Electronic loop detectors etectors etectors. Electronic or inductive loop detectors are the most common 

method of detecting vehicles and sensing incidents automatically. In 2004, the ITS 

Deployment Survey estimated that approximately 20 percent of all freeway miles across 48 

U.S. metropolitan areas were equipped with electronic loop detectors. (2) Electronic loop 

detectors identify changes in vehicle speed as vehicles pass over successive loops 

embedded in the roadway. The loop information (i.e., speed and loop occupancy) is 

interpreted by detection algorithms (software) to pick up patterns indicative of incidents. 

They do not provide a means for verification. 

The accuracy of incident detection using electronic loops is limited at both low and high 

traffic volumes. The effectiveness of electronic loop detectors in supporting TIM operations 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 96

was variable, with the poorest performance reported in Baltimore, MD, Cincinnati, OH, and 

Salt Lake City, UT, where cold temperatures and winter road surface conditions may have a 

detrimental effect on electronic loop detector reliability. 

• Probe v Probe vehicles ehicles ehicles. Similar to electronic or inductive loop detectors, specially equipped vehicles 

can be used to detect changes in vehicle speed. Companion detection algorithms (software) 

are used to pick up patterns that are indicative of incidents. Although several types of 

technologies can support the use of probe vehicles, GPS is proving to be most prevalent. 

Probe vehicles are equipped with GPS receivers and two-way communication to receive 

satellite signals. The positional information determined from the GPS signals is transmitted 

to a control center to display the real-time position of the probe vehicles. Travel time 

information, and any noted changes in travel speed, can be determined from the collected 

data. Fleet vehicles, such as public transit buses, often provide a cost-effective probe 

vehicle sample. 

Incident management personnel in Cincinnati, OH, reported utilizing probe vehicles as part of 

their regional ITS efforts and rated their effectiveness in speeding incident detection as 

“low.” 

• Incident n Incident notification otification otification protocol rotocol rotocol. To address the inconsistent notification of support responders 

when an incident occurs, Maryland formalized incident notification procedures in an 

interagency agreement between the Maryland State Police and the Maryland State Highway 

Administration. This agreement is intended to ensure that transportation personnel are 

notified consistently for each appropriate incident irrespective of different law enforcement 

officers managing the incident. To date, incident management personnel in Baltimore, MD, 

rated this mechanism as “low” in effectively standardizing an incident notification protocol in 

their locale. 

Comparatively, incident notification procedures in Florida and Maine/New Hampshire were 

recently identified as best practices in the I-95 Corridor Coalition’s Traffic Management 

Teams Best Practice Report: (6)

o The Florida Department of Transportation utilizes an automated notification system as 

part of their SunGuideTM TMC software application that permits the operator to quickly 

assemble a list of individuals in multiple agencies to alert when different types of 

incidents occur. 

o In Maine and New Hampshire, a call tree—initiated by the on-scene incident 

commander—is used to enhance notification of and communications between regional 

response agencies, State officials, and local municipalities during major incidents. 

Traveler Information Traveler Information 

Table 17 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to traveler information and identifies select 

locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example locations 

reflect locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and ineffective 

to support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular tool or 

strategy’s performance. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 97

Table 17. Traveler information challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

TRAVELER INFORMATION TRAVELER INFORMATION 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Accurate Traveler 

InformationInconsistent DMS Use

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Incident Update Protocol Incident Update Protocol  

Moderately Effective: CA (Redding, Stockton), NJ 

(Camden), OH (Cincinnati), TN (Chattanooga) (Camden), OH (Cincinnati), TN (Chattanooga) 

Highway Advisory Radio Highway Advisory Radio  

59+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas; 59+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas; Effective: CA Effective: CA 

(Stockton, Redding), OH (Cincinnati), TX (Austin) (Stockton, Redding), OH (Cincinnati), TX (Austin) Austin); 

Ineffective: CA (Bishop), NJ (Camden), MD 

(Baltimore), UT (Salt Lake City) (Baltimore), UT (Salt Lake City) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Incident u Incident update protocol rotocol rotocol. Incident duration is difficult to report accurately, yet it is one of the 

most important to the motoring public. For incident responders, the dynamic nature and 

uniqueness of each incident challenge accurately estimating duration. Duration is especially 

difficult to predict at larger-scale incidents where a number of different agency personnel are 

performing many individual tasks. Consequently, the initial estimate should be periodically 

updated as the incident progresses to better reflect known conditions. Formalizing update 

procedures with step-by-step procedures or a standardized checklist helps to ensure that 

provision of the most accurate and comprehensive information does not get overlooked in 

the performance of other incident-related duties. 

Incident management personnel in Redding, CA, Stockton, CA, Camden, NJ, Cincinnati, OH, 

and Chattanooga, TN, reported using an incident update protocol and consistently rated its 

effectiveness in enhancing the accuracy of traveler information as “moderate” in their 

respective locales. 

• Highway a Highway advisory dvisory dvisory radio. Highway advisory radio can be used in isolation or in combination 

with DMSs and other technologies as part of a broader ATIS to provide traffic information to 

motorists at or approaching an incident. Highway advisory radio primarily broadcasts at 530 

or 1610 kHz on the AM band; roadside signing is commonly used to advise motorists to tune 

to the HAR frequency “when flashing.” Highway advisory radio has a larger area of coverage 

than DMSs and can reach motorists farther upstream of an incident. In addition, HAR can 

provide longer, more detailed messages, including bilingual messages. Both portable and 

permanently installed HAR systems are available, with a transmission range of up to 1 and 4 

mi, respectively. Highway advisory radio is only effective if the motorist tunes the radio to the 

proper HAR frequency. 

In 2007, the ITS Deployment Survey reported 59 metropolitan areas in the United States 

using HAR systems. (2) Of the participants in this investigation, HAR systems were rated as 

“low” in effectively enhancing traveler information by TIM personnel in Bishop, CA, Baltimore, 

MD, Camden, NJ, and Salt Lake City, UT. Conversely, TIM personnel in Stockton, CA, 

Redding, CA, Cincinnati, OH, and Austin, TX, rated HAR systems as “moderate” to “very high.” 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 98

The range in reported effectiveness may be indicative of the level of effort expended to 

maintain the traveler information broadcast on HAR systems. Proper HAR system operation 

is personnel intensive; motorists will reject an information source that provides outdated or 

irrelevant information. 

Response Response 

Table 18 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to incident response and identifies select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example locations reflect 

locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and ineffective to 

support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular tool or 

strategy’s performance. 

Table 18. Response challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

RESPONSE RESPONSE 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Achieving Optimum 

ResponseDifficult Scene Access

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Median Crossovers Median Crossovers 

Effective: CA (Bishop, Redding), MD (Baltimore), NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region), NY (New York), OH 

(Cincinnati), TN (Chattanooga), TX (Austin); (Cincinnati), TN (Chattanooga), TX (Austin); Ineffective: Ineffective: 

UT (Salt Lake City), WA (Bellevue) UT (Salt Lake City), WA (Bellevue) 

Traffic Signal Pre- Traffic Signal Pre-emption emption emption 

Effective: CA (Redding, Windsor), MD (Baltimore), NV 

(Henderson), NY (New York), TX (Austin, Houston), WA 

(Bellevue); (Bellevue); Ineffective: NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), Ineffective: NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region), 

UT (Salt Lake City) UT (Salt Lake City) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Median c Median crossovers rossovers rossovers. Access to an incident is often a problem. Roadway geometrics or traffic 

congestion poses particular problems for large fire and towing and recovery equipment. 

Movable median barriers and emergency crossovers (U-turns) at key locations can 

significantly reduce response times for emergency and support vehicles. To accurately 

identify the most appropriate locations for improved emergency access, historical incident 

location data and input from all responding agencies should be considered. 

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Bishop, CA, Redding, CA, Baltimore, 

MD, the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, New York, NY, Cincinnati, 

OH, Chattanooga, TN, and Austin, TX, reported utilizing median crossovers and rated their 

effectiveness in enhancing access to the incident scene as “moderate” to “very high” in their 

respective locales. Comparatively, median crossovers were rated as “low” by TIM personnel 

in Salt Lake City, UT, and Bellevue, WA. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 99

The range in reported effectiveness may be indicative of the appropriateness of median 

crossover locations, their frequency, or—in cold weather environments—the effort expended 

in keeping the median crossovers passable (i.e., free of snow and ice) for incident response 

vehicles. 

• Traffic s Traffic signal pre-emption emption emption. Traffic signal pre-emption systems allow the normal operation of 

traffic signals to be temporarily interrupted, giving emergency vehicles priority by changing 

traffic signals in the path of the vehicle to green and stopping conflicting traffic. Emitters 

installed on emergency vehicles are generally calibrated to activate signals within 0.25 mi. 

Traffic signal pre-emption systems can reduce response time for emergency responders and 

minimize the potential for conflict with another vehicle while the emergency vehicle is en 

route to the scene. 

Early studies regarding traffic signal pre-emption indicated the potential for significant 

benefit. Following implementation of traffic signal pre-emption systems at 22 intersections, 

Houston, TX, reported a decrease in the average emergency vehicle travel time of 16 to 23 

percent. (120) Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Redding, CA, Windsor, 

CA, Baltimore, MD, Henderson, NV, New York, NY, Austin, TX, and Bellevue, WA, rated traffic 

signal pre-emption as “moderate” to “very high” in effectively enhancing access to the 

incident scene. Comparatively, traffic signal pre-emption was rated as “very low” to “low” in 

effectively enhancing scene access by TIM personnel in the Delaware Valley region in New 

Jersey and Pennsylvania and Salt Lake City, UT. 

The range in reported effectiveness may be explained, in part, by the number of intersections 

equipped with traffic signal pre-emption and the effort expended in maintaining the system 

to ensure ongoing functionality. 

Scene Management and Traffic Control Scene Management and Traffic Control 

Table 19 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to scene management and traffic control and 

identifies select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the 

example locations reflect locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both 

effective and ineffective to support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to 

a particular tool or strategy’s performance. 

Table 19. Scene management and traffic control challenges, strategies, 

and select implementation locations. 

SCENE MANAGEMENT SCENE MANAGEMENT 

AND TRAFFIC CONTROL AND TRAFFIC CONTROL 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Confusion over 

Authority/RolesDifficult On-Scene ManeuverabilityResponder SafetySecondary IncidentsExcess Delay

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Intrusion Detection/Warning Systems Intrusion Detection/Warning Systems  Moderately Effective: NJ (Camden) Moderately Effective: NJ (Camden) Moderately Effective: NJ (Camden) 

Secondary/Responder- Secondary/Responder-Involved Incident Involved Incident 

Tracking Tracking 

 

Effective: MD (Baltimore), NY (New York), 

OH (Cincinnati); OH (Cincinnati); Ineffective: NJ/PA Ineffective: NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region) (Delaware Valley Region) 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

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Table 19. Scene management and traffic control challenges, strategies, 

and select implementation locations (continued). 

SCENE MANAGEMENT SCENE MANAGEMENT 

AND TRAFFIC CONTROL AND TRAFFIC CONTROL 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Confusion over 

Authority/RolesDifficult On-Scene ManeuverabilityResponder SafetySecondary IncidentsExcess Delay

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Responsive Traffic Signal Control Responsive Traffic Signal Control 

Systems Systems 

  

28+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas; 28+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas;Effective: CA Effective: CA 

(Los Angeles), DE (Newark), FL (Broward 

Co.), MI (Detroit, Oakland Co.), MN 

(Minneapolis), NJ (Camden); (Minneapolis), NJ (Camden); Ineffective: Ineffective: 

UT (Salt Lake City) UT (Salt Lake City) 

Alternative Traffic Signal Timing Plans Alternative Traffic Signal Timing Plans 

Moderately Effective: CA (Redding), MD Moderately Effective: CA (Redding), MD 

(Baltimore), NJ (Camden) (Baltimore), NJ (Camden) 

Active Lane/Ramp Controls Active Lane/Ramp Controls  

20+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas; 20+ U.S. Metropolitan Areas;Ineffective: Ineffective: 

NJ (Camden), UT (Salt Lake City) NJ (Camden), UT (Salt Lake City) 

Reserved/Special- Reserved/Special-Use Lane Temporary Use Lane Temporary 

Use Policy Use Policy 

  

Effective: CA (Los Angeles), MD 

(Baltimore), VA; (Baltimore), VA; Ineffective: NJ (Camden) ctive: NJ (Camden) ctive: NJ (Camden) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Intrusion d Intrusion detection/ etection/ etection/warning systems. Commonly used for ensuring safety through 

construction work zones but also appropriate for longer-duration incidents, portable intrusion 

detection/warning systems utilize sensors to detect errant or excessive-speed vehicles and 

an audible warning device to alert responders; no physical protection is provided. Various 

commercial products are available that utilize infrared, microwave, or pneumatic tube sensor 

technologies. 

Incident management personnel in Camden, NJ, rated intrusion detection/warning systems 

as only moderately effective in effectively enhancing responder safety. 

• Secondary and r Secondary and responder esponder esponder-involved nvolved nvolved incident ncident ncident tracking racking racking. Incidents can generally be considered 

secondary to a primary incident if the time and location of the incident can be correlated with 

the primary incident, including the queue dissipation times. The occurrence of secondary 

incidents can point to the need for specific incident management strategies such as 

improved traffic control at the scene, faster clearance times, the use of traffic diversions or 

alternate routes, the provision of additional traveler information, and more. The challenge is 

that the definition of secondary incidents is not standardized, and many agencies do not 

even attempt to classify an incident as secondary, treating all reported incidents as separate, 

primary incidents. 

As noted previously in the main body of this document under “Cross-Cutting Challenges and 

Strategies—Performance Measurement,” a key outcome of FHWA’s recently completed Focus 

State Initiative on TIM Performance Measures was a uniformly defined objective and 

performance metric focused on secondary incidents: (103)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 101

Reduce number of secondary incidents: number of unplanned incidents 

beginning with the time of detection of the primary incident where a collision 

occurs as a result of the original incident either within the incident scene or 

within the queue in either direction. 

A follow-on investigation, again sponsored by FHWA, is currently underway to encourage 

adoption of this and two additional standard TIM-specific performance metrics by States. 

A subset of secondary incidents includes those that involve incident responders at the scene. 

Responder-involved incident tracking has largely been motivated by Occupation Safety and 

Health Administration (OSHA) reporting requirements (CFR Part 1904). These records are 

not specific in terms of the personnel, function, or event leading to the resulting injury to 

support accurate determination of responder injuries and fatalities resulting from TIM 

activities. Accurate estimates of responder injuries and fatalities attributable specifically to 

TIM activities can help to elevate the importance of and investment in effective scene 

management and traffic control strategies. 

Law enforcement agencies maintain distinct records and have developed companion 

websites to increase awareness of officer injuries and fatalities (i.e., National Law 

Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Website: http://www.nleomf.org/memorial and the 

Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc.: http://www.odmp.org/). (121,122) With a focus on fire and 

rescue and EMS personnel, the IAFC initiated the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting 

Systemaimed at turning near-miss experiences into lessons learned, enhancing overall 

safety (National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System Website: 

http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/). (123) Recently, TRAA initiated a similar effort to record 

and increase awareness of towing and recovery operator injuries and fatalities (Survivor 

Fund Website: http://www.thesurvivorfund.com/need.php). (25)

Despite the fact that increased information and awareness of secondary and responderinvolved incidents can encourage further investment in protective tools and strategies to 

enhance both public and responder safety, participants in this investigation reported wideranging effectiveness. Incident management personnel in Baltimore, MD, New York, NY, and 

Cincinnati, OH, rated the tracking of secondary incidents to effectively reduce their 

occurrence as “moderate” to “high” in their respective locales. Comparatively, this same 

strategy was rated as “very low” to “low” in effectively enhancing public and responder safety 

by TIM personnel in the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

• Responsive Responsive traffic signal control systems. Responsive traffic signal control systems (RTSC) 

use algorithms that perform real-time optimization of traffic signal splits, offsets, phase 

lengths, and phase sequences based on current traffic conditions, demand, and system 

capacity to minimize delay and reduce the number of vehicle stops. Responsive traffic signal 

control systems offer potential benefit to motorists who have been rerouted because of an 

incident. Currently, if an incident occurs on the freeway, traffic reroutes onto arterials or city 

streets. This additional and unexpected increase in traffic volume quickly results in 

congested conditions. System technologies “sense” the increased traffic demand using 

electronic loops, video imaging, or microwave sensors and automatically adjust the signal 

timings to improve traffic flow. In 2007, the ITS Deployment Survey estimated that 

approximately 4 percent of all arterial signals across 28 metropolitan areas in the United 

States were equipped with RTSC systems. (2)

Early studies regarding RTSC systems indicated the potential for significant benefit. Network 

simulation of the Detroit, MI, commercial business district indicated that the use of RTSC 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 102

systems for detours around an incident reduced delay by 60 to 70 percent for affected 

paths. (124) Deployments of RTCS in Los Angeles, CA, Broward County, FL, Newark, DE, 

Oakland County, MI, and Minneapolis, MN, reportedly resulted in delay reductions of 19 to 

44 percent, travel time reductions of 13 to 25 percent, and a decrease in the number of 

stops of 28 to 41 percent. (125) Of the participants in this investigation, the effectiveness of 

RTSC systems was reported to be more variable. Incident management personnel in 

Baltimore, MD, and Camden, NJ, rated RTCS systems as “moderate” to “very high” in 

effectively reducing excess delay. Conversely, TIM personnel in Salt Lake City, UT, rated 

these same systems as “low.” 

The range in reported effectiveness may be explained, in part, by the geographic extent of 

the RTSC system, the performance of the algorithms in responding to real-time traffic 

conditions, and the effort expended in maintaining the system to ensure ongoing 

functionality. 

• Alternative t Alternative traffic signal timing plans. In the absence of RTSC systems, the use of alternative 

or modified traffic signal timing plans during incident events can effectively improve traffic 

flow by providing additional green time along designated alternate routes. Most traffic signal 

controllers allow multiple programs to be set. Response personnel can override the normal 

program manually, or in some cases the timing may be set remotely from a TMC. Alternate 

route signal timing plans can be developed in conjunction with alternate route plans. 

Incident management personnel in Redding, CA, Baltimore, MD, and Camden, NJ, reported 

using alternative traffic signal timing plans and consistently rated their effectiveness in 

reducing excess delay as “moderate” to “high.” 

• Active l Active lane/ramp controls ontrols ontrols. Along the affected roadway, overhead lane control signals can be 

used in managed lane systems to permit or prohibit the use of specific lanes. When lane 

control signals are placed over the individual lanes of highway, vehicular traffic may travel in 

any lane over which a green signal is shown but shall not enter or travel in any lane over 

which a red signal is shown. For TIM, variable lane closures can be used to shift traffic out of 

downstream blocked lanes well in advance of the incident scene. Lane control signals can 

also be used to indicate interim shoulder or special-use (e.g., toll, managed, or highoccupancy vehicle [HOV]) lane operations. 

When large numbers of diverted vehicles attempt to merge onto an alternate freeway or back 

on the same freeway downstream of an incident, regular ramp meter timing may create long 

queues, which may spill back onto local streets. Most ramp-metering controllers allow either 

queue override or queue adjustment to flush the queue and allow vehicles to enter the 

freeway. Queue override temporarily suspends ramp metering, while queue adjustment 

temporarily increases the metering rate to allow more vehicles to enter. 

In 2007, the ITS Deployment Survey estimated that approximately 6 percent of all freeway 

miles across 23 metropolitan areas in the United States were equipped with lane control 

signals and approximately 16 percent of all freeway ramps across 20 metropolitan areas 

were equipped with ramp meters. (2) Despite their relative widespread implementation, TIM 

personnel in Camden, NJ, and Salt Lake City, UT, rated active lane/ramp controls as “very 

low” to “low” in effectively reducing excess delay.

The low reported effectiveness of these systems may be explained, in part, by the level of 

effort required to actively manage lane/ramp use and the level of compliance from motorists. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

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• Reserved/s Reserved/special-use lane temporary emporary emporary use policy. Temporary use of reserved or special lanes 

(e.g., toll, managed, or HOV lanes) during incidents relies on the suspension of toll fees or 

vehicle occupancy or type restrictions to temporarily encourage or mandate lane use by 

general-purpose traffic. During a major incident, it may be useful to suspend 

reserved/special-use lane restrictions; the additional capacity in the reserved/special-use 

lane can replace, in part, the mainline capacity lost because of the incident. Interim use of 

reserved/special-use lanes during a major incident requires an effective traveler information 

system (i.e., a network of variable message signs and highway advisory radio along with 

media reports) to inform motorists of modified reserved/special-use lane use policies. Field 

personnel should actively direct the diversion process to ensure motorists are aware of the 

proper action. To maintain the credibility of reserved/special-use lanes, its use by generalpurpose traffic should be considered a last resort in an incident management plan. 

Preferred alternatives may include the use of alternate routes or shoulders as travel lanes. 

A set of criteria that define when reserved/special-use lanes should be opened for interim 

use is imperative to provide consistency. Specific criteria for interim use of reserved/specialuse lanes generally consider the time it takes to clear an incident and the percentage of 

reduced capacity caused by the incident. For example, in Virginia, if the operation of clearing 

a major incident lasts longer than 2 h or if an incident blocks 50 percent of the main lanes in 

the peak direction, then the restrictions on the HOV lane will be lifted. (126)

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Los Angeles, CA, and Baltimore, 

MD, rated reserved/special-use lane use protocols as “high” and “very high,” respectively, in 

effectively reducing excess delay. Comparatively, TIM personnel in Camden, NJ, rated this 

same strategy as “very low” in effectively reducing excess delay. 

Low effectiveness ratings may be explained, in part, by a particularly restrictive use protocol 

that does not allow sufficient access to the reserved/special-use lanes or a high level of 

congestion in the reserved/special-use lanes that does not adequately alleviate delay. 

Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 105

APPENDIX C: ADDITIONAL CROSS- APPENDIX C: ADDITIONAL CROSS-CUTTING CUTTING CUTTING CHALLENGES AND CHALLENGES AND 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES 

For many of the individual tools and strategies intended to address cross-cutting challenges, a wide 

range of effectiveness was observed and/or reported by locale, suggesting that local conditions 

related to the nature and extent of operation, maintenance, marketing, etc. have a significant impact 

on the perceived or measured success of specific TIM efforts. Because of their potential to be 

effective under certain implementation scenarios, these additional tools and strategies—infrequently 

or inconsistently observed to be effective—are included here. 

Agency Relations Agency Relations 

Table 20 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to agency relations and identifies select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example locations reflect 

locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and ineffective to 

support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular tool or 

strategy’s performance. 

Table 20. Agency relations challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

AGENCY RELATIONS AGENCY RELATIONS 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Different Priorities/

CulturesInstitutionalizing TIM

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Viable Agency Career Path in TIM Viable Agency Career Path in TIM 

Effective: CA (Windsor), MD (Baltimore); Effective: CA (Windsor), MD (Baltimore); Ineffective: Ineffective: 

NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region) NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Viable a Viable agency career path in TIM ath in TIM ath in TIM. As noted previously in the main body of this document 

under “Cross-Cutting Challenges and Strategies—Program Resources and Funding,” 

transportation personnel often assigned to TIM duties have other full-time responsibilities in 

maintenance, traffic engineering, or ITS. Over time, TIM may evolve into a professional 

subspecialty within the transportation profession, practiced by full-time personnel who have 

clear responsibilities and accountability through reporting and performance measurement for 

stable and funded TIM programs. This evolution in TIM will provide a viable career path for 

TIM personnel, leading to enhanced retention of personnel and associated knowledge and 

skill sets and more effective, long-term working relationships with other incident responders. 

In 2000, the Tennessee Department of Transportation established an Office of Incident 

Management with responsibility for the HELP service patrol program and for building a 

statewide TIM program. In 2001, the Office of Incident Management became a separate unit 

reporting to the assistant chief engineer for operations. (9)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

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Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Windsor, CA, and Baltimore, MD, 

rated a viable career path in TIM as “high” to “very high” in effectively institutionalizing TIM, 

citing the ability to retain qualified personnel as a significant benefit. Comparatively, TIM 

personnel in the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania rated the 

effectiveness of this same strategy as “low.” 

Communications Communications 

Table 21 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to communications and identifies select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example locations reflect 

locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and ineffective to 

support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular tool or 

strategy’s performance. 

Table 21. Communications challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

COMMUNICATI COMMUNICATIONS 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Limited 

CommunicationsInefficient Communications

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Common/Interoperable Radio Systems Common/Interoperable Radio Systems 

Effective: CA (Windsor), NY (New York), OH (Cincinnati), 

RI, TX (Austin); RI, TX (Austin); Ineffective: NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Ineffective: NJ/PA (Delaware Valley 

Region) Region) 

Cross Installation of Radios Cross Installation of Radios 

Effective: CA (Stockton), FL, MD (Baltimore), TX 

(Austin); (Austin); Ineffective: CA (Redding), NJ/PA (Delaware Ineffective: CA (Redding), NJ/PA (Delaware 

Valley Region) Valley Region) 

Console Patch Console Patch 

Effective: MD (Baltimore), NJ/PA (Delaware Valley 

Region); Region); Ineffective: CA (Redding), UT (Salt Lake City) Ineffective: CA (Redding), UT (Salt Lake City) Ineffective: CA (Redding), UT (Salt Lake City) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Common/i Common/interoperable nteroperable nteroperable radio systems. ystems. ystems. A permanent communications solution can be

achieved by building or procuring a single radio system that serves multiple TIM agencies or 

taking steps to make existing radio systems interoperable. Under the first scenario, multiple 

agencies typically share in the system costs, ensuring that their collective performance 

requirements are met. In particular, trunked systems can be configured to allow agencies to 

have their own talk groups (i.e., allowing them to communicate as if they had a system 

dedicated to their agency when appropriate) and allow interagency talk groups to be utilized 

when interoperability is required. 

Response agencies are heavily invested in existing radio systems; it may be extremely 

difficult to persuade agencies to abandon these investments for new systems. In many 

cases however, public safety agencies already utilize common/interoperable radio systems, 

effectively limiting the investment required to achieve commonality to transportation and 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 107

other support agencies. Rhode Island is currently in the process of procuring an 800-MHz 

radio system to allow statewide radio access among TIM responders. (6)

As an alternative to building or procuring a single radio system, steps can be taken to make 

most existing radio systems interoperable. The National Task Force on Interoperability 

developed an informational guide entitled Why Can’t We Talk? Working Together to Bridge 

the Communications Gap to Save Lives—A Guide for Public Officials. 

(127) The guide 

examines the critical barriers to interoperability (the ability of different systems to exchange 

both voice and data communications), provides guidelines for assessing a jurisdiction’s 

interoperability, and suggests interim technology strategies to close gaps. 

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in the Delaware Valley region in New 

Jersey and Pennsylvania rated common radio systems as “low” in effectively enhancing enroute and on-scene communications. Conversely, TIM personnel in Windsor, CA, New York, 

NY, Cincinnati, OH, and Austin, TX, rated the effectiveness of this same strategy as 

“moderate” to “very high” in effectively enhancing en-route and on-scene communications. 

• Cross i Cross installation o nstallation o nstallation of radios. Cross installation of conventional radios in response vehicles 

provides a less costly approach to improving communication among TIM responders from 

different agencies (i.e., a transportation radio is installed in a police vehicle in addition to the 

police radio and vice versa). Resources can usually be made available to allow for the 

installation of one agency’s radio in another agency’s vehicle; both agencies benefit if the 

swap of radios is equal. The cross installation of radios is only effective at improving 

communication between a few agencies; cross installation of radios is limited by physical 

space in the vehicle and the ability to simultaneously monitor and operate several different 

radio systems. Hence, to be most effective, cross installation of radios requires the 

identification of the most critical communication links. 

The Florida Department of Transportation has recently secured authority to utilize the 

Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System for all Road Ranger Safety Service Patrols. The 

use of these 800-MHz radios allows direct communications with the regional law 

enforcement dispatch centers, TMCs, and Florida Highway Patrol incident responders. The 

Florida Department of Transportation has purchased these radios and is in the process of 

distributing them to the districts. (6)

Consistent with Florida’s perceived effectiveness of this strategy, TIM personnel in Stockton, 

CA, Baltimore, MD, and Austin, TX, rated the cross installation of radios as “moderate” to 

“high” in effectively enhancing en-route and on-scene communications in their respective 

locales. Comparatively, TIM personnel in Redding, CA, and the Delaware Valley region in New 

Jersey and Pennsylvania rated this same strategy as “low,” noting that not all TIM responders 

were sufficiently trained in the use of outside agency radios. 

• Console p Console patch. A more temporary measure is to deploy a console patch or gateway interface 

device that receives a transmission from one radio system and rebroadcasts it on another 

radio system. One disadvantage of this approach is that it ties up a frequency (channel) for 

each different radio system when in use. However, given the relatively low cost of 

retransmission devices and the achievable deployment with little or no changes required to 

existing radio systems, this approach has significant potential, particularly as a near-term 

solution or as part of a transitional strategy toward more complete communications 

capabilities. (95)
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 108

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Redding, CA, and Salt Lake City, UT, 

rated the use of radio console patches as “very low” to “low” in effectively enhancing enroute and on-scene communications. Conversely, TIM personnel in the Delaware Valley 

region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania rated the effectiveness of this same strategy as 

“high.” Incident management personnel in Baltimore, MD, rated the effectiveness of radio 

console patches as “moderate” in enhancing en-route and on-scene communications but 

noted that this effectiveness rating was based on infrequent use. 

Technology Technology 

Table 22 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to technology and identifies select locations where 

these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example locations reflect locales 

where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and ineffective to support 

additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular tool or strategy’s 

performance. 

Table 22. Technology challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Lack of Standards

Limited Integration/InteroperabilityInadequate Life-Cycle Costing

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Regional ITS Architecture Regional ITS Architecture gional ITS Architecture 

Effective: MD (Baltimore), TX (Austin); Effective: MD (Baltimore), TX (Austin); Ineffective: Ineffective: 

CA (Bishop), NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region) CA (Bishop), NJ/PA (Delaware Valley Region) 

Life-Cycle Cost Requirements for State Cycle Cost Requirements for State 

Procurement Procurement 

 Ineffective: CA (Redding), TN (Chattanooga) Ineffective: CA (Redding), TN (Chattanooga) 

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Regional ITS a Regional ITS architecture. rchitecture. rchitecture. The National ITS Architecture provides a common framework for 

planning, defining, and integrating technology-based systems and components. The 

architecture defines the system functions that are required, the locations where these 

functions reside (e.g., the field or the vehicle), and the information and data flows that 

connect these functions and physical subsystems together into an integrated system. The 

National ITS Architecture can be used to develop a regional ITS architecture, tailored to 

address local conditions and investment needs. Subsequent technology-based project 

requests are then compared for adherence to the regional ITS architecture. 

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Bishop, CA, and the Delaware Valley 

region in New Jersey and Pennsylvania rated a regional ITS architecture as “very low” to 

“low” in effectively encouraging technology integration and interoperability in their respective 

locales. Incident management personnel in Austin, TX, rated the effectiveness of this same 

strategy as “moderate.” Conversely, TIM personnel in Baltimore, MD, rated the effectiveness 

of a regional ITS architecture as “very high,” noting resulting benefits related to information 

and resource sharing. 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 109

The range in effectiveness may be further explained by the timeliness of regional 

architecture development (i.e., older architectures may not adequately reflect local 

conditions that have changed over time) and the level of input originally obtained from 

diverse TIM response agencies. 

• Life-cycle cost requirements for State equirements for State equirements for State procurement. rocurement. rocurement. Typical costs for a system over its life 

span may include design, development, and acquisition costs; operating and maintenance 

costs; and disposal costs. Design, development, acquisition, and disposal costs are 

generally deterministic, but operating and maintenance costs can vary significantly based on 

the complexity of the system and the random nature of system failures. Consequently, 

agencies may be surprised by the magnitude of operating and maintenance costs associated 

with technology deployment and be ill prepared to cover these costs without sacrificing some 

other aspect of service. By requiring life-cycle costing as part of the State procurement 

process, agencies can better anticipate and plan for comprehensive technology costs at the 

time of procurement. 

Incident management personnel in Redding, CA, and Chattanooga, TN, consistently rated lifecycle costing requirements for State procurement as “low” in effectively enhancing the use of 

technology. This low rating may suggest a sufficient level of technology deployment 

experience by TIM program administrators to successfully anticipate life-cycle costs without 

State procurement requirements. It may also suggest a lack of confidence in life-cycle cost 

estimates, particularly related to the operation and maintenance of technology-based 

systems. 

Performance Measurement Performance Measurement erformance Measurement 

Table 23 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to performance measurement and identifies select 

locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example locations 

reflect locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and ineffective 

to support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular tool or 

strategy’s performance. 

Table 23. Performance measurement challenges, strategies, and select implementation locations. 

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Inconsistent Definitions

Lack of Consensus/DataLimited Data Sharing/Accessibility

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

State Traffic Records Coordinating 

Committee Partnerships Committee Partnerships 

  Ineffective: CA (Bishop) Ineffective: CA (Bishop) 

Dedicated TIM Database Dedicated TIM Database  

Effective: OH (Cincinnati); Effective: OH (Cincinnati); Ineffective: NJ/PA Ineffective: NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region), NY (New York) (Delaware Valley Region), NY (New York) 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

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Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• State t State traffic records coordinating oordinating oordinating committee ommittee ommittee partnerships. artnerships. artnerships. At the State level, traffic records 

coordinating committees represent multiple agencies involved in traffic records initiation, 

storage, transmission, and dissemination with the intent of improving the accessibility, 

timeliness, accuracy, and completeness of statewide traffic-related information. These 

committees strive to maximize utilization and functionality; improve data accuracy, 

timeliness, and linkages; advance electronic data collection; protect privacy; and minimize 

redundancies in related systems, allowing agencies to better accomplish individual goals.

TIM personnel in Bishop, CA, reported utilizing partnerships with State traffic records 

coordinating committees but rated their effectiveness in reaching consensus and supporting 

TIM performance measurement as “low.” 

• Dedicated TIM d Dedicated TIM database. atabase. atabase. As an alternative to integrating distinct agency databases with 

companion data exchange protocol, a dedicated database may be specifically developed to 

accommodate TIM performance measurement needs. Such a database should support 

monitoring of multi-agency TIM goals and objectives, be accessible to all key TIM agencies, 

and not be burdensome with other single-agency data collection and reporting duties. 

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in the Delaware Valley region in New 

Jersey and Pennsylvania and New York, NY, rated the effectiveness of a dedicated TIM 

database in reaching consensus and supporting TIM performance measurement as “low.” 

Personnel in New York, NY, noted, however, that such a database exists only in select State 

regions. Conversely, TIM personnel in Cincinnati, OH, rated this same strategy as “high.” 

Program Resources and Funding Program Resources and Funding rces and Funding 

Table 24 identifies the various tools and strategies that were infrequently or inconsistently observed

to be effective in overcoming challenges related to program resources and funding and identifies 

select locations where these tools and strategies are in use. Whenever possible, the example 

locations reflect locales where the various tools and strategies have proven to be both effective and 

ineffective to support additional information gathering regarding factors contributing to a particular

tool or strategy’s performance. 

Table 24. Program resources and funding challenges, strategies, 

and select implementation locations. 

PROGRAM RESOURCES PROGRAM RESOURCES 

AND FUNDING AND FUNDING 

STRATEGIES STRATEGIES Limited Resources/

FundingInadequate Outreach 

to Executives

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE 

APPLICATIONS APPLICATIONS 

 

Cost Recovery Mechanisms/Databases Cost Recovery Mechanisms/Databases 

Effective: CA (Stockton, Windsor), MD (Baltimore), UT 

(Salt Lake City), WA; (Salt Lake City), WA; Ineffective: CA (Redding), NJ/PA Ineffective: CA (Redding), NJ/PA 

(Delaware Valley Region) (Delaware Valley Region) 

TIM Requirements in New Construction 

Contracts Contracts 

 Ineffective: CA (Redding), MD (Baltimore) Ineffective: CA (Redding), MD (Baltimore) ), MD (Baltimore) 
Best Practices in Traffic Incident Management 

September 2010 111

Additional descriptive information regarding the various tools and strategies and select locations 

where these tools and strategies are in use is provided below. 

• Cost recovery ecovery ecovery mechanisms/ echanisms/ echanisms/databases. atabases. atabases. States commonly collect and maintain various TIM 

data to provide historical operational performance information (i.e., changes in response or 

clearance times), ensure ongoing operational improvement, and justify program continuance. 

Select States, such as Washington, collect and maintain data with a broader focus: to allow 

departments of transportation to recover more of the costs of the incident response effort 

from the insurance companies of the parties at fault, and to improve agency budget and 

planning forecasts. 

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Stockton, CA, Windsor, CA, 

Baltimore, MD, and Salt Lake City, UT, rated cost recovery mechanisms/databases as 

“moderate” to “high” in effectively enhancing limited program resources and funding. 

Comparatively, TIM personnel in Redding, CA, and the Delaware Valley region in New Jersey 

and Pennsylvania rated the effectiveness of this same strategy in enhancing limited program 

resources and funding as “very low.” 

The range of reported effectiveness may be explained, in part, by differences in the nature 

and extent of cost recovery and the level of effort required to maintain such a recovery 

system. 

• TIM requirements in equirements in equirements in new construction onstruction onstruction contracts. ontracts. ontracts. Major construction events present an 

opportunity for securing additional program resources and funding to support TIM efforts. A 

portion of construction project funding may be required to be set aside for traffic 

management operations, such as TIM in construction zones, which may continue even after 

a project has been completed. Eligible traffic management activities may include traffic 

signal control, freeway surveillance, DMS, HAR, and temporary service patrols. 

Of the participants in this investigation, TIM personnel in Redding, CA, and Baltimore, MD, 

rated this strategy as “very low” to “low” in effectively enhancing limited program resources 

and funding. Incident management personnel in Baltimore, MD, noted an infrequency of 

use, contributing to its low reported effectiveness ratings. 
Contact Information Contact Information 

For additional information on this report, 

contact Kimberly Vasconez, via email at 

Kimberly.Vasconez@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

September 2010 

Publication FHWA-HOP-10-050