Ohio QuickClear Ohio Fire Chiefs' Association Annual Conference July 22 & 23, 2006 Ohio QuickClear Professional Responders Guide for Safe and Effective Highway Incident Management

Alan L. Phillips Emergency Response Coordinator – Highway Operations – Ohio Department of Transportation Phone: 614-466-3897 or 614-799-9237 Fax: 614-995-5998 Email: alan.phillips@dot.state.oh.us

Ohio QuickClear Committee AAA Ohio Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police Ohio Department of Public Safety Ohio Department of Transportation Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Ohio Fire Chief’s Association Ohio Fire Marshall’s Office Ohio Trucking Association Towing and Recovery Association of Ohio

Mission Statement “Committed to maintaining the safe and effective flow of traffic during emergencies as to prevent further damage, injury or undue delay of the motoring public.”

Video Clip

Incidents Happen

Freeway Management System

History Growing concern about crashes and traffic congestion Formed in August 2002 by Directors of the Ohio Departments of Public Safety and Transportation

Introduction A study by FHWA shows that secondary incidents make up roughly 20% of all incidents In 2004, traffic-related deaths among officers in the line of duty made up 48% of the total deaths of officers for that year

Introduction QuickClear is the coordination of response agencies to preserve the safety of crash victims, incident responders, and other motorists while reducing the impact and duration of incidents

Objective - Safety Safety Secondary Crashes Of victims Of emergency response personnel Of victims Of other motorists Secondary Crashes Crashes that occur as a result of previous incident Each freeway traffic crash increases the risk of a secondary crash by 600%

Objective - Safety

Objective - Congestion More than half of all congestion is caused by incidents Each minute of closure results in eight minutes of congestion delay

Objective - Congestion If three lanes are blocked for two hours causing a four mile backup, over $1,000,000 will be lost Congestion costs a large city 930 million dollars, 55.5 million hours of delay and 34.5 million gallons of fuel each year

Pictures of Incidents The picture on the left shows a 75 car pileup in Atlanta, GA

Best Practices by Agency All Agencies Contact appropriate personnel Coordinate plans with each other Cooperation among agencies

Best Practices by Agency All Agencies Each incident is unique in its character and hazards. Continued re-assessment of each scene is imperative. Any time it is possible to open a lane, even temporarily, it should be done.

Best Practices by Agency Fire and EMS Traffic control methods Coordination with other agencies when possible Effective training Effective communication Incident Commander Safety

Best Practices by Agency Law Enforcement Traffic control Salvage recovery Coordination With Fire With Transportation Scene assessment Incident Command System

Best Practices by Agency Transportation Agencies Safe and efficient roads Develop response protocols for freeway closures ODOT Playbook Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) Real-time photo images Incident Command System

Freeway Service Patrol Freeway service patrol programs that enlist full-time support reduce incident duration by 15 to 30 percent over programs with part-time staff.

ODOT Activities - ARTIMIS

ODOT Activities – Columbus FMS

ODOT Activities – Playbook

Best Practices by Agency Towing and Recovery Pre-qualification Proper training Safety first Restore travel lanes when possible

Improved Incident Management Adopting best practices at the local level can reduce the risk of traffic incidents, reduce incident duration and restore traffic flow as quickly as possible. It will also SAVE LIFES OF FIRST RESPONDERS AND THE MOTORING PUBLIC!

Disabled or Abandoned Vehicles On average, 450 shoulder collisions happen each year Limit time vehicles remain on the freeway shoulder FSP Disabled vehicle re-location Minor repairs to re-locate vehicle

Driver Opportunities Adopt “Steer It and Clear It”

Secondary Crash Example

Coordination – Pre-Incident Transportation agencies Develop diversion routes Have equipment on hand to handle traffic Review and update plans periodically All agencies Meet regularly to improve best practices and policies

Incident Command Communicate with transportation agencies in the incident command structure Request proper towing equipment in a timely manner Provide regular updates to the media Coordinate with TMC staff in urban areas with FMS

Major Incident Review Review previous results Communicate to ensure previous conflicts are avoided

Alan L. Phillips Emergency Response Coordinator – Highway Operations – Ohio Department of Transportation Phone: 614-466-3897 or 614-799-9237 Fax: 614-995-5998 Email: alan.phillips@dot.state.oh.us

Questions