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List of AbbreviationsJanuary 2010NGNext-GenerationNGANational Governors AssociationNHINational Highway InstituteNIEMNational Information Exchange ModelNIFGNational Interoperability Frequency GuideNIFOGNational Interoperability Field Operations GuideNIMCNational Incident Management CoalitionNIMSNational Incident Management SystemNIOSHNational Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthNJDOTNew Jersey Department of TransportationNJSPNew Jersey State PoliceNRTNational Response TeamNTIMCNational Traffic Incident Management CoalitionNUGNational Unified GoalNVFCNational Volunteer Fire CouncilNYDOTNew York Department of TransportationOSCOn-Scene CoordinatorPDAPersonal Digital AssistantPennDOTPennsylvania Department of TransportationPIOPublic Information OfficerPMPerformance Measures or Performance MeasurementPOCPoint of ContactPSAPPublic Safety Answering PointPSPPennsylvania State PoliceQCQuick ClearanceRITAResearch and Innovative Technology AdministrationSAESociety of Automotive Engineers (International)SAFETEA-LUSafe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for UsersSHRP IIStrategic Highway Research Plan IISHSPStrategic Highway Safety PlanSMESubject Matter ExpertSOSafety OfficerSOCState Operations CenterSOPStandard Operating ProcedureSOSINKSoutheast Indiana and Northern KentuckySQCSafe, Quick ClearanceSWOTStrengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and ThreatsTDOTTennessee Department of Transportationthe Handbook TIM HandbookTIMTraffic Incident Management2010 Traffic Incident Management Handbook Updateix

List of AbbreviationsxJanuary 2010TIMATraffic Incident Management AreaTIMETraffic Incident Management EnhancementTIM PM FSITIM Performance Measures Focus States InitiativeTIMSATraffic Incident Management Self-AssessmentTMCTransportation Management CenterTMTTransportation Management TeamTOCTraffic Operations CenterTRAATowing and Recovery Association of AmericaTTCTemporary Traffic ControlTTITexas Transportation InstituteUASIUrban Area Security InitiativeUCUnified CommandUDOTUtah Department of TransportationUMTRIUniversity of Michigan Transportation Research InstituteU.S.United StatesUSDOTU.S. Department of TransportationUSFAU.S. Fire AdministrationVMSVariable Message SignWFCWashington Fire ChiefsWisDOTWisconsin Department of TransportationWSAFCWashington State Association of Fire ChiefsWSDOTWashington State Department of TransportationWSPWisconsin State Patrol or Washington State Patrol2010 Traffic Incident Management Handbook Update

Introduction to Traffic Incident Management1January 2010Introduction to Traffic Incident Management1.1 IntroductionFor more than 20 years, transportation, public safety and private sector professionals haveworked cooperatively in traffic incident management (TIM) programs to safely and efficientlyclear traffic incidents and incident-related debris. As TIM programs have matured, programmanagers and field-level practitioners alike have benefited from Federal Highway Administration(FHWA) efforts to collect, document, and distribute good practices, lessons learned, and thenecessary steps for implementing, improving, and expanding TIM program components.The 2010 version of the Traffic Incident Management Handbook (the Handbook or TIMHandbook) includes the latest advances in TIM programs and practices across the country, andoffers practitioners insights into the latest innovations in TIM tools and technologies. The 2010TIM Handbook also features a parallel Web-based version that can be conveniently bookmarked,browsed, or keyword-searched for quick reference. This version supersedes the Freeway IncidentManagement Handbook published by FHWA in 1991 and the Traffic Incident ManagementHandbook published in 2000.The Handbook is organized according to the following chapter topic areas: Chapter 1: Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of Traffic IncidentManagement and sets the context for the 2010 TIM Handbook update. Chapter 2: TIM Strategic Program Elements: This chapter details the programmaticstructure and institutional coordination necessary for a successful TIM program. Chapter 3: TIM Tactical Program Elements: This chapter describes the full range of onscene operations. Chapter 4: TIM Program Support – Communications and Information Exchange: Thischapter describes the communications and technical aspects of successful TIMprograms.A quick resource guide titled, “Want to Know More?”, follows each chapter and directs readers tosupplemental information associated with the specific chapter content.1.2 What’s at StakeIn 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced the “National Strategy toReduce Congestion on America’s Transportation Network”. In this strategy-defining document,USDOT defined congestion as “one of the single largest threats” to the Nation’s economicprosperity and way of life. The USDOT’s Fiscal Year 2006 to 2011 Strategic Plan1 identifiedreducing congestion as one of the Department’s key strategic goals.Department of Transportation: Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2006-2011, available overview.12010 Traffic Incident Management Handbook Update1

Introduction to Traffic Incident ManagementJanuary 2010The impact of congestion on the Nation’s highways is well documented. In the 2009 UrbanMobility Report published by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), data calculated in 2007reported that based on wasted time—4.2 billion hours—and fuel—2.8 billion wasted gallons,congestion cost about 87.2 billion combined in the top 439 urban areas in the United States.2Traffic incidents have been identified as a major contributor to increased congestion. TheNational Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC) estimates that traffic incidents arethe cause of about one-quarter of the congestion on US roadways, and that for every minute afreeway lane is blocked due to a incident, this results in 4 minutes of travel delay time.3Improving traffic incident management is one key to reducing congestion. In the 2009 UrbanMobility study, TTI calculated that in 2007, where improved incident management procedureswere implemented in 272 of the 439 urban areas, the resulting reduction in incident-relatedcongestion saved 143.3 million hours and 3.06 million.4Improved TIM has been shown to reduce both overall incident duration as well as secondarycrashes. In the annual evaluation of its Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART)program, the State of Maryland estimated that the CHART-directed incident managementresulted in average incident duration of 22 minutes, as compared to 29 minutes for otheragencies, and that this reduction in incident duration resulted in 290 fewer secondary incidents in2005.5 The impact of this reduction incident duration is demonstrated by a study published in theITS Journal that estimated that the likelihood of a secondary crash increases by 2.8 percent forevery minute that the primary incident remains a hazard.6In addition to the economic and safety impacts, congestion levies a very real human toll.According to the NTIMC, traffic crashes and struck-by incidents are leading causes of on-dutyinjuries and deaths for law enforcement, firefighters, and towing and recovery personnel.7 Asa result, increased responder safety is one of the three core objectives of the NTIMC’s NationalUnified Goal (NUG) for traffic incident management.An additional significant benefit of improved TIM and reduced congestion that is not oftenconsidered is the environmental benefit realized by reducing wasted fuel consumption. The U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that every gallon of gasoline burned emits 19.4pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2). For diesel fuel, the average is 22.2 pounds of CO2 per gallon ofdiesel fuel.8 Given that approximately 2.8 .billion gallons of fuel were wasted due to congestionin 2007, the environmental impact of reducing congestion and improving TIM is significant. Forexample, in Maryland, the reduction in incident duration for the CHART program of 7 minuteswhen compared to other agencies would result in a reduction of 135.8 pounds of CO2 for gasolineand 155.4 pounds of CO2 for diesel. Given that CHART reported 20,515 incidents that involved theblockage of one or more freeway lanes in 2005, the per-incident savings multiplied by the numberof incidents in Maryland alone demonstrates the potential impact in emissions reduction fromimproved traffic incident management.2TTI: 2009 Urban Mobility Report, July 2009, p. 14, available online: http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility report 2009.pdf.3NTIMC: Benefits of Traffic Incident Management, available online: efits11-07-06.pdf.4TTI: 2009 Urban Mobility Report, July 2009, p. 14.Chang, Rochon: Performance Evaluation and Benefit Analysis for CHART—Coordinated Highways Action Response Team—in Year 2005 Final Report,University of Maryland, College Park, MD, May 2006.56Karlaftis, Latoski and Sinha Richards. “ITS Impacts on Safety and Traffic Management: An Investigation of Secondary Crash Causes,” ITS Journal,1999, Vol. 5, pp.39-52.7“Responder Safety,” National Traffic Incident Management Coalition, November 2006.EPA: Overview: Pollutants and Programs, “Emission Facts: Average Carbon Dioxide Emissions Resulting from Gasoline and Diesel Fuel,” availableonline: 0 Traffic Incident Management Handbook Update

Introduction to Traffic Incident ManagementJanuary 20101.3 Traffic Incident Management: A Timeline for ProgressTIM program progress has evolved over two decades and has benefited from a series of nationalinitiatives described in sections 1.3.1 through 1.3.6.1.3.1 National Incident Management CoalitionAs one of the earliest formal TIM initiatives, the National Incident Management Coalition’s(NIMC) work has been the genesis for a number of TIM programs across the country. In 1990, theAmerican Trucking Associations Foundation (ATAF) and its Trucking Research Institute publishedIncident Management,9 which was among the first documents to propose a link betweenthe effective management of traffic incidents and the country’s economic competitiveness.Concurrent with the publication of Incident Management, the ATAF collaborated with FHWAto create and manage the NIMC, an ad hoc coalition of national organizations dedicated toadvancing the cause of coordinated management of traffic incidents as a discipline.The NIMC’s work focused on outreach and education, introducing the concept of coordinatedincident response. Through a series of 20 outreach conferences held around the country from1991 to 1994, the NIMC brought together the diverse range of TIM stakeholders to make the caseand build consensus for multi-agency cooperation and coordination involved in clearing trafficincidents. In 1996 and 2001, the NIMC convened TIM expert focus groups to document currentTIM state-of-the-practice and future recommendations.1.3.2 National Highway Institute TrainingInitiated in 1998 and ongoing currently, the National Highway Institute’s (NHI) Managing TrafficIncidents and Roadway Emergencies training course is among the longest running TIM-relatedtraining courses ever offered. Designed for mid- to upper-level managers from TIM responderagencies, the curriculum focuses on institutional and technical aspects of multi-agency incidentclearance.10 Since its initial offering, the course has been taught more than 90 times, reachingsome 2,800 TIM practitioners.1.3.3 National Conference on Traffic Incident ManagementIn 2002, several key NIMC organizations convened the National Conference on Traffic IncidentManagement with goals to develop and promote an agenda for improved TIM at the nationallevel. More than 150 TIM stakeholders

CHART Coordinated Highways Action Response Team CHP California Highway Patrol CIR Critical Incident Review CO 2 Carbon Dioxide CVVFA Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman's Association DHS U.S. Department of Homeland Security DMS Dynamic Message Sign DOJ U.S. Department of Justice DOT Department of Transportation DVRPC Delaware Valley Regional .