Traffic Incident Management Newsletter
News and Resources for TIM Advocates, Mar 2021
Dear Reader:
Last November, we observed the 5th National Traffic Incident Responder Awareness Week (NTIRAW). By any measure—media coverage, social media engagement, and your newsletter outreach—we were successful in getting the word out. Thank you for your work in promoting NTIRAW, as well as the National TIM Responder Training and the importance of Move Over Laws.
This year is a true reminder of the importance of partnership. In the year 2020, even with traffic significantly down across the nation, 46 responders were struck and killed. Through our collective efforts in education and advocacy, we all continue to make our roads safer. Despite unprecedented challenges for our responder communities, over 57,000 responders were trained in TIM practices in the year 2020.
As with our monthly Talking TIM webinars, the audience for this quarterly newsletter has more than doubled this past year. Whether you’re a long-time subscriber or new to our list, please reach out if you have any ideas for how we can help support you.
Jim and Paul
FHWA TIM Program Managers
- Pennsylvania Improves its Move Over Law.
- TIM Program Self-Assessment.
- Next-Generation TIM at the FHWA Every Day Counts Virtual Summit.
- Does Your Region Have a TIM Newsletter?
- Join Us for the Upcoming Talking TIM Webinar.
- Highlights from the 2020 NTIRAW.
On April 27, 2021, Pennsylvania’s new Move Over law will go into effect. This law, an updated, enhanced version of an existing Steer Clear law, establishes a speed reduction requirement and defines increased penalties associated with violations. Drivers are now required to slow to at least 20 mph less than the posted speed limit. The law also sets fines at $500 for a first-time offender, $1000 for a second-time offender, $2000 for subsequent offences, and additional significant fines and license suspensions for more frequent or serious violations. Specific details are available from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The FHWA Traffic Incident Management Self-Assessment (TIMSA) provides a formal process for State and local transportation, public safety, and private sector partners to collaboratively assess their TIM programs, and to identify opportunities for improvement.
The voluntary TIMSA’s 41 questions focus on strategic, tactical, and support topics to help identify useful next steps for a regional or Statewide TIM program. The TIMSA is typically completed by a regional or statewide TIM Committee or Coalition, a formal organization representing diverse TIM stakeholder communities. Ten States, as well as 90 regions, completed the TIMSA and received targeted feedback to improve their program’s capability maturity, as illustrated in the figure below. Help us turn the map green. Please reach out to Paul Jodoin for support in completing a TIMSA for your region.
In early December, the Every Day Counts (EDC) Program hosted their first-ever Virtual Summit. Held across 3 days, the Summit welcomed over 3,000 participants from State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), local agencies, federal land management agencies, tribes, and industry.
Debuted at the Summit, and worth sharing, is a no-nonsense, brief video that explains “Why Next- Generation TIM” is important. The Summit’s virtual exhibit hall featured discussions from TIM practitioners and experts on video sharing technology, responder-to-vehicle alerts, local TIM practices, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) integration, as well as TIM trivia.
The Next-Generation TIM Team offers special thanks to the following peers for sharing their expertise during the Summit’s Exhibit Hall discussions:
- Scott Yinger, Maryland DOT
- Ashley Buechter, Missouri DOT
- Nicole Forest, Florida DOT
- Captain Robert Hainje, Tippecanoe County Sherriff’s Office
- John McClellan, Minnesota DOT
- Todd A. Leiss, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Among those that attended the Next-Generation TIM breakout session, nearly 160 individuals participated in polls to choose the focus area and specific technology with the greatest potential benefits for their regions. The poll results are illustrated in the image below.
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Does your region publish a TIM Newsletter? What is the frequency of your newsletter? Who contributes to crafting your newsletter? The FHWA would like to spotlight unique and creative elements that reflect how your TIM program communicates with key stakeholders. How does your region spotlight successes and promote enhanced TIM training, technologies, practices, and performance? Please send a copy of your most recent newsletter along with a point of contact to James Austrich.
Every month, the FHWA TIM Team partners with National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) to offer the Talking TIM webinar series. You can view previous webinars or register for the upcoming webinar by visiting the Talking TIM series. Webinars take place the fourth Wednesday of each month from 1:30 – 3:00 PM EST. Topics on recent webinars include:
- Innovative tools for responder and road worker safety.
- FHWA Next-Generation TIM technologies.
- Crowdsourced data for protecting the queue.
- Debris removal demonstration.
- TIM benefits cost tool.
To offer to share your agency’s TIM practices, improvements, and innovations through a future Talking TIM webinar, please reach out to Paul Jodoin.
On behalf of the FHWA Office of Operations TIM Team, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Safety, NHTSA Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Office of Safety, thank you for your public education and outreach, your TIM Proclamations, and other activities this year to bring attention to traffic incident response personnel during NTIRAW.
The 5th Annual NTIRAW honored all first responders serving their communities, and especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Below are five among the many messages on Twitter for NTIRAW. For more information regarding NTIRAW, please contact James Austrich.
  
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