Traffic Incident Management and Post Crash Care for EMS – National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS)

Presented by: Joseph Tebo, FHA, Office of Operations; USDOT Program Manager; Todd Leiss, Traffic Incident Management Specialist at Jacobs Engineering

Room 201

Joe Tebo will cover how to enhance the survivability of crashes through expedient access to emergency medical care, while creating a safe working environment for vital first responders and preventing secondary crashes through robust traffic incident management practices. An update and discussion on the evolving technologies featured by the Federal Highway Administrations “Every Day Counts – 7 (EDC7)” program that highlights “Technology for Saving Lives”. One element of the NRSS is Post Crash Care for EMS and includes enhancing EMS safety by increasing training and outreach awareness.

Traffic Incident Management, or TIM, offers coordinated strategies to detect, respond to, and clear traffic incidents. TIM programs increase traveler and responder safety. When a crash, or other incident affects roadways, TIM programs work to make sure responders collaborate to clear the incident scene safely and quickly. Firefighters, emergency medical services and law enforcement, towing and recovery, public works, transportation, and 911 dispatchers are many of the disciplines that work together using well-rehearsed procedures and advanced technologies to save lives, prevent secondary crashes.

At least two United States emergency responders are struck daily, resulting in property damage, injuries, and death. As responders, many of us have taken the four-hour TIM course either in person or online, but is that “enough,” and are we now “safe”?

Todd Leiss will examine what else we need to do to prepare better for an emergency roadway incident and protect you and your crew. Planning, SOPs, and regular training for roadway response are needed. During this presentation, he will use new state-of-the-art virtual reality training as the next step to help train your crew and better communicate, coordinate, and cooperate at roadway incident scenes.