Regional Traffic Incident Management Programs : Implementation Guide

008138742000PDFManualFHWA-OP-01-002;FTA-TRI-11-00-03Incident managementInteragency relationsRegional planningRegional transportationGuidelinesUnited States. Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation SystemsUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUnited States. Federal Transit AdministrationNTL-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMSNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-Management SystemsNTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLSNTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-Traffic FlowFederal Highway AdministrationIt has been estimated that 57 percent of the nation?s traffic congestion is due to crashes and other incidents. Organized traffic incident management is the primary tool in mitigating the impact. Traffic incident management involves multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional responses to traffic disruptions that result in congestion. Efficient management and coordination of these responses is essential to reducing the negative impact of incidents on safety and traffic flow, but coordinating the different agencies and jurisdictions can be challenging, given their diverse institutional functions and individual agency goals. The purpose of this document is to assist organizations and their leaders in implementing and sustaining regional traffic incident management programs, both by examining some successful models, and by considering some of the lessons learned by early implementers. This document presents a framework for developing what is missing in almost every urban area: a formal multiagency traffic incident management program with endorsement by, participation from, and coordination by senior agency management, and which includes all of the participating agencies. Formalizing the incident management effort: turning it into an incident management program: involves such steps as developing a written and endorsed strategy and a plan to implement the strategy; identifying and building support from a full complement of stakeholders and with the public; gaining support and ongoing participation in program direction from agency senior executives; documenting the respective roles and responsibilities of participants; establishing program goals and objectives and evaluating performance on these; establishing incident management as a major mission within and between the participating agencies; and mainstreaming of funding for incident management into the traditional transportation planning process. This document discusses goals, objectives, and potential benefits of formal incident management programs. References, 7 figures, appendix. 64 p