Making the Business Case for Traffic Incident Management

Chapter 6. Summary and Conclusion

This document provides information on how to develop a compelling business case for traffic incident management (TIM) investments. The development of a business case is a lifecycle process that does not stop with the development of the business case product, but includes activities that help to formalize and institutionalize TIM within the organization, position TIM for funding, and prepare the project/program for success.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Region 3, District 8 Dedicated Incident Response (IR) Pilot Project, referenced throughout this document, is an excellent example of the need and process for developing a compelling business case for TIM. The district had a problem/need in that the lack of a dedicated incident responder adversely affected the efficiency of maintenance operations. The ODOT champion pushed for several years for a dedicated incident responder without success. It was not until the champion developed a vision and identified a planning document that stated the need for a dedicated response in the corridor that approval was received to conduct a pilot project. The pilot project served as the evaluation phase in which data associated with the objectives and performance measures were collected, analyses were conducted, and the benefits of the dedicated incident responder were demonstrated. In addition, the pilot project provided an opportunity for the district to formalize the program in terms of stakeholder and community engagement. This example clearly demonstrates that all of the phases of the business case development process played a critical role in getting approval for a permanent dedicated incident responder.

The TIM business case development lifecycle process suggests that it is important to continue to show the benefits of TIM beyond implementation of a TIM program or strategy. Ongoing data collection and program evaluation help garner further support for the investment, future investments, and the TIM program as a whole. While the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) must justify biennially to the State legislature the funding it receives for its IR program, WSDOT makes a continuous effort to demonstrate accountability for its programs through its quarterly Gray Notebook performance report and its annual Corridor Capacity report. The information contained within these reports (see Appendix B) is a snapshot of WSDOT's business case for TIM. (WSDOT, "Corridor Capacity Report," Washington State Department of Transportation, 2015.)

Challenges in the development of a business case for TIM do exist. The primary challenge is that data are limited in many regions. Further, there have been few empirical analyses to support the business case for TIM - much of the benefits estimations are based on modeling and assumptions of TIM impacts, and many of those are dated and based on small datasets or small scale application (specific to a single region's data). More consistency in incident data collection is needed.

In addition to this document, a number of particularly relevant resources are available to assist agencies as they seek to collect the necessary data, conduct the appropriate analyses, and develop the information needed to make a strong business case for TIM. These resources have been referenced throughout this document and include the following:

• National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 07-20: Guidance for Implementation of Traffic Incident Management Performance Measurement - Provides guidance on the consistent use and application of TIM performance measures in support of the overall efforts of TIM program assessment. The guidance includes the most common sources of TIM data; a dictionary of data elements pertaining to TIM performance measurement; a model TIM performance measurement database schema; example applications of the model TIM performance measurement database; and database outputs, analyses, and visualizations associated with the example applications. (K. Pecheux and R. Brydia, "Guidance for the Implementation of Traffic Incident Management Performance Measurement," National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 07-20, Transportation Research Board, National Academies, 2014.)
• Online Traffic Incident Management Performance Measurement (TIM PM) Tool - Provides essentially the same information as the NCHRP 07-20 report in a more usable, online format. Fourteen detailed agency case studies present and describe the state-of-the-practice in TIM data collection, analysis, and reporting. In addition, TIM PM resources, including written guidance, outreach documents, and a TIM PM PowerPoint briefing can be downloaded for use.
• Process for Establishing, Implementing, and Institutionalizing a Traffic Incident Management Performance Measures Program - Provides a user-friendly, easy-to-apply process to establish, implement, and institutionalize a local, regional, or state TIM performance measurement program. The document covers TIM performance measures, definitions, and data requirements; what TIM data are available; the collection and management of TIM data; the analysis and reporting of TIM data; the involvement of partners in TIM performance measurement and management; and the formalization/institutionalization TIM performance measurements. The process presented is based on approaches, practices, techniques, and technologies that have been or can be applied to support a successful TIM performance measurement program. (FHWA, "Process for Establishing, Implementing, and Institutionalizing a TIM Performance Measures Program," U.S. Department of Transportation, Publication FHWA-HOP-15-028, 2016 (anticipated).)
• NCHRP 03-108: Guidance on Quantifying Benefits of TIM Strategies - Pending guidance on the quantification and monetization of TIM benefits. The guidance enables accurate assessment of an agency's TIM strategies and communication of results to decisionmakers; the quantification of impacts and benefits that can be used in developing operational performance measures; consideration of quantitative factors including safety, mobility, reliability, emissions, business, and freight impacts; awareness of the relationships between elements, such as roadway type, primary and secondary incidents, level of congestion, capacity reductions due to incidents; and analytical estimation of secondary crashes based on factors such as incident location, duration, severity, traffic flow, and congestion.