Traffic Incident Management

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This document from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition provides basic information about what happens in traffic incident response. This information is intended for use in public education campaigns.
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Fire departments, law enforcement, transportation, emergency medical agencies and towing and recovery operators are responding to an ever-increasing number of roadway incidents involving crashes, medical emergencies, vehicle fires, and hazardous material events.
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Through synthesis of current research on highway work zone safety with input from participants in a December 1998 workshop, this document offers measures that contractors, agencies, policymakers, manufacturers, law enforcement, and the research community can take to reduce occupational injuries in highway work zones.
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This Exam Workbook and Study Guide prepares the user to take the written test for certification to earn the Certified Traffic Incident Management Technical Specialist credential offered by the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) in cooperation with The Emergency Responder Safety Institute of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firefighters Association. This certification is accredited by The Pro Board.
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Go inside the December 17, 2020 struck by incident that shook Citizens’ Hose Company (Smyrna, DE) to its core and hear from the firefighters involved what happened, how traffic control made the difference, and how the department has responded moving forward.
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Developed by the Capitol Region Council of Governments Greater Hartford Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Coalition, this field guide provides guidance for traffic incident scene management for emergency response organizations. Includes TIM and responder safety basic principles, guidelines for deploying traffic control devices, recommended TIM procedures, and practical diagrams of traffic control applications like vehicle classification, stopping distances, and traffic incident management area setups for different roadway configurations.
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“Effects of Emergency Vehicle Lighting Characteristics on Driver Perception and Behavior: Study Report” is an ERSI report of human factors research in cooperation with RPI and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The study investigates the impact of lighting color, intensity, modulation, flash rate, and presence of retroreflective chevron markings on driver behavior while traversing a simulated traffic incident scene at night. Findings cover the effects of lamp intensity, lamp color, and retroreflective markings on the visibility of a simulated responder at a test incident scene. Whether these factors create a “moth to flame” effect was also examined. The report describes the experiment design, the tasks researchers completed, and the results observed.
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Erie County Sobriety Checkpoint Traffic Control Zone Set-Up & Safety Worksheet
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This document is a recommended example of a traffic control professional equipment list. It was provided by the Adams Area Fire District.
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This report summarizes a workshop convened during the 2018 National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week on how to harden blocking vehicles to protect responders and the public.
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The Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association (CVVFA) and their Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) developed this manual and the accompanying online-based training course for first responders and other personnel who respond to roadway incident scenes. In the initial minutes of a roadway incident, responders often find themselves operating in moving traffic at great peril.
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This reference card from the Emergency Responder Safety Institute illustrates the accepted highway lane numbering system and nomenclature for describing roadways in consistent terms.
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This ERSI study reports the results of a field experiment to investigate the impacts of emergency vehicle marking color, retroreflectivity level and spatial patterns on drivers’ ability to see emergency responders working near their vehicles was carried out. The study also examined the impacts of a wearable flashing LED light.
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This 2004 Staff Study Report documents the work to date of the Law Enforcement Stops and Safety Subcommittee. It includes technology, practices, and research related to improving officer safety and preventing police vehicle crashes. Recommendations are included at the end of each section of the re¬port as benchmarks against which to measure future successes to improve the safety of police vehicles, highway environment and design, and traffic stop practices.
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This document from the Emergency Responder Safety Institute and the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association is the Instructor Manual for the course “Managing Emergency Incidents on the Roadway.” This program was developed to provide emergency services leaders and instructors with information and tools on traffic incident management that they can use to train other emergency responders in there departments or agencies. This Manual includes both classroom management information, full speaker’s notes for the training presentation, and a tabletop exercise.
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The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is a compilation of national standards for all traffic control devices, including road markings, highway signs, and traffic signals. The MUTCD is used by road managers nationwide to install and maintain traffic control devices on all public streets, highways, bikeways, and private roads open to public traffic.
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This document is a model SOP/SOG to use as a “go by” when formulating your departments’ SOP/SOG on safe position of apparatus while operating on or near the roadway.
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This document is a model SOG to use as a “go by” when formulating your department’s SOG for cone, flare, or sign deployment at traffic-related incidents.
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This document explains opportunities available from the National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program (NLERSP), which provides no-cost training, technical assistance, and resources to local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies with the goal of reducing the number of officers injured and killed on the nation’s roadways. Further information is available at LEOroadwaysafety.org.
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This bookmark publicizes the National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management and its strategies.
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This document answers Frequently Asked Questions about need for and development of the National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management.
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This document summarizes the 18 Strategies in the National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management.
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This document provides additional, detailed explanation for each of the 18 Strategies in the National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management.
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This document provides talking points for speakers presenting the National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management.
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This trifold brochure summarizes the National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management, how it was developed, what organizations were involved in developing it. Detail on the strategies is not included in this document.
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These guidelines were established to provide incident responders in the state of New York a uniform approach to emergency traffic control and scene management. The guidelines include incident response priorities, incident classification, responder safety, responder vehicles, establishing the traffic incident management area, staging, breakdown, and investigation.
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This manual, developed in Nova Scotia, Canada, presents guidelines for traffic management, including setup of the emergency traffic control zone, vehicle positioning, traffic control device placement, and incident command setup.
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This paper from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition summarizes currently available information about the benefits of Traffic Incident Management (TIM), including congestion relief, economic savings, energy conservation and environmental benefits, public health and safety improvements, reduced mortality and morbidity, increased responder safety, reduced public safety personnel requirements, and increased customer satisfaction. The document also discusses ways to measure these benefits.
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This document from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition reviews examples of traffic incident management (TIM) strategies to build stronger state TIM programs. These strategies include interagency strategic planning, statewide best practices guidelines, stronger working partnerships between agencies, performance goals, and workable TIM organizational structures. The document also summarizes example state and local TIM programs.
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This document from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition provides a common terminology for use by responders during traffic incidents when identifying the location of the incident and the preferred position for arriving response vehicles and equipment. The document encourages response agencies to adopt this common terminology.
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This document from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition provides a framework for improving incident communications, including response planning, incident notification protocols, public advisories, emergency routing, CAD-ITS integration, and emerging communications technologies.
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This document from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition reviews available data on responder fatalities that occurred while working on the roadways and suggests strategies to reduce the incidence of these fatalities.
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This document from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition proposes strategies to achieve safe, quick clearance of traffic incidents.
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This procedure identifies parking practices for Fire Department apparatus that will provide maximum protection and safety for personnel operating in or near moving vehicle traffic. It also identifies several approaches for individual practices to keep firefighters safe while exposed to vehicle traffic.
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This plan serves as an operational guide when serious dry vegetation fires are encountered.
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The purpose of this procedure is to establish a standard deployment for wildland-urban interface fire incidents.
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This statement presents the position of the CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute on the use of temporary traffic signs for advance warning at roadway incidents.
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This Emergency Responder Safety Institute report summarizes research and subject matter expert input into how to develop a training approach that improves wildfire
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Following each JPR in this standard that is related to emergency responders working on the roadway, you will find a list of ResponderSafety Learning Network modules whose content supports that JPR.
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A visual aid to use during wildfire response to remember “must do” safety actions when responders are operating on foot near moving vehicles.
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A visual aid to use during wildfire response to assist in setting up a traffic incident management area (TIMA) when wildfires or wildfire operations impact roadways.
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A short training video reinforcing key traffic incident management practices decrease to decrease responders’ risk of being struck by vehicles at wildfires.
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This document is a list of recommended equipment for a traffic control professional.
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This video makes plain the dangers of working on the roadway, the grave reality of line of duty deaths occurring on the roadway, and explains the “ten cones of highway safety” for responders to practice to work more safely on the road.
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This Power Point program provides training for responders on the first arriving apparatus at a highway incident. The first 15 minutes of an incident often sets the tone for the entire response. Learn how practices such as “windshield size up” can make the scene safer.
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
This paper summarizes the proceedings of a workshop convened by the Emergency Responder Safety Institute during the 2018 National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week to envision the future of roadway incident response safety and traffic incident management and as a Twenty Year Review of the original 1999 White Paper "Protecting Emergency Responders on the Highway".
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This alert describes the hazards facing fire fighters working along roadways, presents two case studies, and lists recommendations for prevention of struck bys.
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Traffic Incident Management Area (TIMA)
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This ResponderSafety.Com reference card diagrams the layout of a Traffic Incident Management Area and provides important traffic management details, including incident magnitude definitions, TIMA area lengths based on posted speed limit, and an Emergency Responder Checklist for crucial roadway response actions.
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A training presentation to accompany the report Protecting Emergency Responders from Moving Vehicles During Wildfire Responses to teach contributing factors to wildfire traffic-related incidents, key safety considerations, avoidance and mitigation actions, recommended responder actions, and incident command.
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
A training presentation to accompany the report Protecting Emergency Responders from Moving Vehicles During Wildfire Responses to teach traffic incident management practices for safe, efficient operations, including pre-planning, advance warning, visibility, blocking, backing up, and evacuation.
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
The video, “Traffic Incident Management Committees Drive Roadway Safety” is an inside look into what a TIM Committee does, how it makes emergency responders’ work easier and safer, and the ways its activities help responders deliver superior service to the public at roadway incidents.
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This handbook from the Federal Highway Administration includes the latest advances in TIM programs and practices across the country, and offers practitioners insights into the latest innovations in TIM tools and technologies, including strategic, tactical, and support elements.
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This zip file contains all training materials for the Emergency Responder Safety Institute’s Traffic Incident Management in the Wildland-Urban Interface Training Program.
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This report from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) provides guidance to local-level fire departments on compliance with the Department of Transportation’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the National Fire Service Incident Management System Consortium’s (NFSIMSC’s) Model Procedures Guide for Highway Incidents. This document details incident case studies, describes equipment to improve highway safety, shows how to set up a safe traffic incident management area, explains incident command for highway incidents, and lists best practices and other sources of information on effective highway incident operations.
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Categories:  Reports  |  Traffic Incident Management
A full operations level training program that may be taught in modules. Suggested presenters should be at least a level one instructor. Suggested teaching time is 4 hours total.
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