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Contents >> 1.0 INTRODUCTION

INFORMATION SHARING FOR TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Traffic incident management is defined as the “systematic, planned, and coordinated use of human, institutional, mechanical, and technical resources to reduce the duration and impact of incidents, and improve the safety of motorists, crash victims, and incident responders” (Traffic Incident Management Handbook, 2000). 1

Traffic incident management focuses on developing procedures, implementing policies, and deploying technologies to more quickly identify incidents, improve response times, and more effectively and efficiently manage the incident scene. With many and varied parties involved in response efforts, rapid and effective traffic incident management relies on successful information sharing between public safety agencies, transportation agencies, and other public and private sector incident responders.

Information sharing is critical for quick and appropriate response because the efforts have direct correlations to public safety and mobility. Information sharing allows multiple agencies to identify needed resources and provide coordinated traffic incident management; it also provides the motoring public with information upon which to base their travel choices.

Purpose of This Document

The purpose of this document is to identify and summarize information needs of public and private incident responders. It describes how information is obtained and shared during an event in order to best support safe, quick response and safe passage for the motoring public. Additionally this document addresses technical and institutional barriers to information exchange as well as methods devised to overcome these barriers. This report will build upon key research and efforts to show the advantages of data sharing between multiple agencies. This document will also highlight information sharing frameworks of response partnerships that successfully manage traffic incidents.

Target Audience

This document is targeted toward three distinct audiences that require information to effectively and efficiently carry out their duties as they respond to an incident. These include:

  • First Responders – These would include individuals from state and local law enforcement agencies, emergency dispatch centers, fire-recue and emergency medical service departments, and other public service personnel who typically address the immediate incident scene. Their primary duty is to secure the incident scene and look after the needs of the motorists involved in the incident. However, they also work with operations personnel to implement and execute traffic incident management responses.
  • Operations Personnel – These would include individuals that are typically associated with state and local transportation agencies whose response priorities focus on restoration of normal traffic flow. They work both on scene to support incident response and traffic control as well as in traffic management centers to coordinate the overall incident response. This group also includes private sector partners, such as towing and hazardous material contractors, that provide emergency services to support clean-up and recovery efforts so a scene can be cleared and traffic delays minimized.
  • Secondary Responders and Additional Stakeholders (“Secondary Responders”) – These would include individuals that take over traffic control set-up responsibilities from first responders and operations personnel as well as individuals from insurance divisions, coroners’ and medical examiners’ offices, the media, and other entities that have varied participation in a response effort. They are not generally first on scene, and secondary responders provide support functions to assist in the incident response. Their typical focus is traffic control and management as well as support to the incident scene that impacts incident duration, motorist response, and emergency manager actions.

Structure of this Guidebook

This guidebook is one in an Information Series on Traffic Incident Management Safe, Quick Clearance. This guidebook focuses on Information Sharing for Traffic Incident Management. Other guidebooks available in this information series deal with the following topics:

  • Traffic Control Concepts for Incident Clearance;
  • Hazardous Materials Spills in Incident Clearance;
  • Traffic Incident Management in Construction and Maintenance Work Zones; and
  • Traffic Incident Management Resource Management.

This document identifies and summarizes the information needs of various incident response entities. It describes the means to obtain and share information during an event and some of the challenges associated with information sharing among multiple agencies. Chapter 2 discusses the various means through which incident responders share information and summarizes case study information from the primary source document that supports these methods of information sharing. Chapter 3 discusses how incident response agencies collect and distribute information in the context of the incident timeline; it also highlights best practices for information sharing followed by various incident response agencies. Chapter 4 discusses various information sharing barriers as well as some strategies to overcome them. Chapter 5 contains references and other suggested readings that were used to develop this guidebook.