Ohio QuickClear

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

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

3. 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

4. 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.”

5. Video Clip

6. Incidents Happen

7. Freeway Management System

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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Objective - Safety • Safety • 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%

12. Objective - Safety

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

14. 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

15. Pictures of Incidents

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

17. 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.

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

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

20. 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

21. 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.

22. ODOT Activities - ARTIMIS

23. ODOT Activities – Columbus FMS

24. ODOT Activities – Playbook

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

26. 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!

27. 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

28. Driver Opportunities Adopt “Steer It and Clear It”

29. Secondary Crash Example

30. 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

31. 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

32. Major Incident Review • Review previous results • Communicate to ensure previous conflicts are avoided

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

34. Questions