Third Senior Executive Transportation and Public Safety Summit: Final Report

3. Traffic Incident Management Executive Leadership Group Context Setting

This session offered a historical perspective on traffic incident management (TIM) practices—from the 2007 National Unified Goals (NUG), a unified TIM policy developed by major national organizations representing traffic incident responders—through the first two summits (in 2012 and 2017), to the present by Apex, North Carolina Police Department Chief John Letteney, third Vice Chair of the International Association of the Chiefs of Police. He reflected, "To best understand where we are going, we must know where we have been, and why we are on this path. In doing so, we will be more effective and able to keep focused, not only on the original goal, but the related goals and objectives that carry us into the future."

Chief Letteney was invited to join the TIM Executive Leadership Group (ELG) and celebrated an early milestone of 100,000 responders trained; he shared why TIM matters to him and why it should matter to every individual present at the summit. He cited that the fatality rate for tow operators is more than 15 times the rate for all U.S. private industries and that in the first 10 months of 2018, the Illinois State Police had 26 troopers struck, and three fatally. He asked participants to remember that each one represents a responder, a family, and a community; that is why TIM matters.

The value in the National TIM Responder Training—now approaching 50 percent of the goal of one million trained—is not only from its in-person multi-disciplinary training, independent online training, and the instructor-led online training. There is also the accompanying cultural shift to safe and efficient incident management through the coordination among all responders, including police, fire, emergency medical services (EMS), emergency management, public works, towing, Federal, State, and local departments of transportation (DOT), and beyond. Chief Letteney thanked and recognized International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Highway Safety Committee Chairman Chief Daniel Sharp, IACP President Chief Steven Casstevens, and IACP Past President John Whetsel for their passion in making traffic safety a priority; not just here in the U.S., but globally.

Chief Letteney emphasized "what we are doing in our fields is critically important to traffic incident management." He charged the participants to answer during the summit what they can do over the next year and the next five years to improve safety and how they will exercise their role in being a TIM champion and make a positive impact in their sphere of influence.

Each TIM ELG representative briefly shared why their association participates in the ELG, how their association's members benefit from ELG participation, and what their association hopes to achieve through continued engagement. Themes centered on improving collaboration for incident response, improving safe incident response practices among members, sharing good practices and trends, and continuing to advance safe, quick clearing through local outreach, technology, and policies. The following highlights elements of each TIM ELG representative's message:

• American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Executive Director Jim Tymon shared that each of its 50 State Transportation member agencies focuses on TIM to improve transportation safety, create economic prosperity, and enhance the quality of life in their respective communities and States. A few, such as Tennessee DOT, have built upon the National TIM Responder Training to create TIM facilities that allow for real-world live exercises in a fully immersive training environment.
• Past American Public Works Association (APWA) Board Member and current TIM ELG member Harry L. Weed noted how APWA had offered multiple TIM Responder Training sessions during national conferences, such as the APWA Public Works Expo, to train public works professionals in a cross-discipline environment. The training helps enhance relationships between public works and first responder peers at the community level. APWA supports 30,000 public works professionals through advocacy, education, and member engagement.
• Chief Daniel G. Sharp, Chair, Highway Safety Committee (HSC), IACP shared that their association represents over 31,000 law enforcement leaders and that their 32-member HSC is committed to identifying and improving highway safety through traffic initiatives and solutions that save lives. He shared that as a local police chief, he understood why his peers often saw TIM as a major highway or freeway issue, but emphasized that "applying these [TIM] principles in a municipal setting will result in enhanced roadway safety and reduce crashes. Ultimately improving the quality of life in our communities."
• Chief Norris W. Croom III, a Board Member Representing the EMS Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), noted that, on average, five firefighters are struck and killed every year during traffic incident response, and an untold number suffer life-altering injuries. He emphasized that these are preventable, and that is why IAFC supports TIM training that includes fundamentals and technology, notification and scene size-up, arrival and vehicle positioning, and command responsibilities. He highlighted the now-common practice among fire departments to use their fire engines to block traffic and protect the lives of all responders. He shared that "the IAFC resolves to work with local, regional, and State fire organizations to provide more TIM training resources to assure the safety of all first responders and the motoring public."

• Keith Wages, Immediate Past President of the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO), expressed that the dangers present for ambulance and other EMS personnel when responding to a roadside incident and while caring for injured victims is unconscionable. He noted that at the local level, a wide variety of entities—cities, hospitals, volunteer associations, and the private sector—operate ambulance services. Mr. Wages appealed to every summit participant to reach out to their State EMS Office, and to include every local EMS in TIM training and exercise plans. He shared, "this work is of utmost importance, it must continue, and must include every profession on those roadway incident scenes. They are there to save lives, not lose their own."
• Chief Michael Touchstone, the Past President of the National Emergency Medical Services Management Association (NEMSMA), explained that their organization represents 681 member organizations representing fire-based, hospital-based, and third service EMS as well as member organizations from volunteer and career services. NEMSMA has and continues to reach over 9,000 individuals through email and social media to promote TIM and previously participated in advocacy for the "Move Over" laws. Chief Touchstone "envisions TIM training and education becoming a part of primary EMT and Paramedic certification programs, as well as a component of continuing education."
• National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Jonathan Thompson, reminded participants that "TIM saves lives—not only of our motoring public, but also of our first responders." NSA represents over 4,000 sheriffs and has dramatically expanded involvement in traffic safety initiatives. TIM tools, techniques, and strategies, along with TIM Responder training, are provided to NSA members through articles in the Sheriff & Deputy magazine and their monthly Traffic Safety newsletter.
• Chief Kevin Quinn, the 1st Vice Chair and Chair of Health, Safety for the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) noted that, as the leading association representing more than 680,000 volunteer firefighters, EMS providers, and rescue workers, the NVFC role is to ensure that members have the tools and training to fulfill their calling to help others and to go home safely. Chief Quinn emphasized that "with our unified voice, we must educate the public on how important it is to drive with awareness, drive sober, slow down, and move over when passing emergency scenes." He shared NVFC's commitment to emphasize training, best practices, and proven techniques to reduce injuries and eliminate preventable line-of-duty deaths.
• Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc.® (TRAA) President Joanne Blyton voiced the message for their 35,000 towing members, 350,000 drivers, and over 50 State towing associations to advance education and leadership. TRAA has been advocating TIM for nearly two decades, having developed the 2003 Traffic Incident Management Tow Operators Workplan (TIMTOW) Guide to promote TIM principles to the towing industry. She shared that the towing industry suffers the loss of one tow operator every six days. Mrs. Blyton provided a variation on the "I have a dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr., noting TRAA's dream of no more names inscribed on their Walls of the Fallen. She and TRAA"applaud the widespread movement to mandate TIM training for tow operators and continues to encourage members and State towing associations to participate in TIM training."