FHWA’s ‘Traffic Incident Management’ Reaches Major Milestone

Federal Highway Administration
10 August 2016

FHWA 45-16
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Contact: Nancy Singer
Tel.: (202) 366-0660

Four-year-old program graduates 200,000th Emergency Responder

WASHINGTON – Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials announced today that the 200,000th emergency responder has completed the “Traffic Incident Management” (TIM) responder training. The life-saving training is part of a national effort to improve the safety of first responders and others on the scene of highway crashes.

“This training is vital to the men and women who arrive at the scene of a highway crash who often risk their own lives bringing safety and care to others,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Besides protecting emergency workers and ensuring crash victims receive immediate attention, these practices reduce the chance of secondary crashes and prevent traffic jams by keeping traffic moving for other drivers.”

FHWA’s TIM responder training course is designed by and for responders and helps to build teams of well-trained police, firefighters, highway workers, and emergency medical and towing personnel. Together, they learn a common set of practices, including quick clearance techniques that improve communications and reduce the amount of time needed to remain on scene.

The delays caused by such crashes and other traffic incidents are responsible for about half of all traffic delays -- which limits freight movement, increases worker commute times and significantly decreases highway safety and for everyone on the road.

“We are helping emergency responders learn safer practices at highway accident scenes,” Deputy Federal Highway Administrator David S. Kim said. The 200,000 first responders who have completed the training represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.