Safe, Quick Clearance of Road Issues

Each day, firefighters, EMTs/paramedics, state troopers, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, tow operators, and state and local road workers are exposed to serious hazards making emergency responses on Southeast Michigan’s highways and roadways.

To help ensure the safety of these men and women, SEMCOG participated in the 11th annual Traffic Incident Management Partnering Workshop. This workshop:

• Included educational material to support responder safety training;
• Promoted the National Unified Goal (NUG) for Traffic Incident Management (TIM) including responder safety, safe and quick clearance, and interoperable communications;
• Encouraged development of TIM Teams;
• Promoted collaboration, communication, and cooperation among the region’s emergency responders; and
• Provided information to keep emergency responders up-to-date on national rules, regulations, and trends related to safe roadway incident operations.

Highlights of this year’s workshop:

The Oakland County Medical Examiner, Dr. Ljubisa Dragouvich, described his legal responsibilities and how he works with local law enforcement (South Oakland County Crash Investigation Team or, SOCCIT) and other responders to expedite clearing an incident without compromising evidence.

Angie Kremer, Traffic Incident Management Engineer, MDOT, discussed the importance of TIM training. Mi-TIME (Michigan’s Traffic Incident Management Effort) is a partnership between agencies including MDOT, state and local law enforcement, fire, EMS, and towing services, to work together to safely and efficiently clear traffic incidents. Other goals of this program include first responders’ use of high-visibility vests and increased public awareness of “Steer it, Clear it” law. After the workshop, a Mi-TIME training session was held where an additional 19 responders were trained.

A joint presentation by the Macomb County Department of Roads and Sheriff’s Department described the importance of communications. Staff from these departments are co-located in Macomb’s new Communications and Technology Center, or COMTEC. This state-of-the-art facility provides 24/7 monitoring and managing of routine traffic incidents, fire or EMS calls, road closures, or an escalating emergency event, such as severe weather.

Rick Fenton, Corporate Security Director, Ilitch Holdings, described the new home of the Detroit Red Wings in The District Detroit. Much thought went into the design of this stadium and the surrounding facilities. Safety and security of residents and visitors was a high priority, along with traffic management.

Walter Davis, Detroit Homeland Security and Emergency Management, led development of a traffic and evacuation plan for the City of Detroit.

Two panel discussions addressed:

1. Working together to respond to some recent freeway incidents (tanker fires). The panel of first responders consisted of towing, fire, and MDOT.

2. Addressing hazardous materials that may be present at the scene of a traffic incident. This panel was represented by fire, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and Terra Consulting.

MDOT Region Engineer Tony Kratofil provided an overview of the progress made in traffic incident management and regional transportation operations in Metro Detroit, including:

• implementing closed-circuit television cameras along freeways;
• collocating MDOT and Michigan State Police in the Southeast Michigan Transportation Operations Center;
• establishing a freeway courtesy patrol;
• clearing abandoned vehicles quickly;
• providing interagency training on traffic control during an incident;
• regularly scheduling post-incident reviews;
• implementing quick clearance legislation, and
• reducing user delay costs.