Traffic incidents such as crashes, debris, and stalled vehicles can cause 50 percent, or more, of regional delays. But most importantly, they put motorist and responder lives at risk.
Thousands of motorists are killed or injured each year in the wake of a primary crash. In 2019, 44 responders were killed while working roadway incidents—up from 17 in 2018. Since January 2020, 11 responders have been struck and killed by errant motorists.
In response, FHWA offers traffic incident management (TIM) training for responders and municipal and State stakeholders, with cooperation from partners in all States, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. TIM training is available and recommended for the first-responder community to improve safe, efficient, and quick clearance of incidents and to reduce secondary crashes. At a local level, TIM education and strategies are key to improving safety for all first responders essential to road response, including:
- Law enforcement.
- Fire and rescue.
- Emergency medical services.
- Transportation/public works.
- Public safety communications.
- Emergency management.
- Towing and recovery.
- Hazardous materials contractors.
- Traffic information media.
Traffic Incident Management is a planned and coordinated program process to detect, respond to, and remove traffic incidents and restore traffic capacity as safely and quickly as possible. This coordinated process involves a number of public and private sector partners, including:
