Secondary crashes are a leading cause of injuries and deaths to emergency responders working at roadway incidents. In 2020, 46 emergency responders were struck & killed; this number shot up to 65 emergency responders struck and killed in 2021. So far in 2022, 34 emergency responders have been hit & killed (as of August 22, 2022). So, what are we doing to keep our crews safe beyond taking a 4-hour TIM class every few years? How many of us pre-plan & train for roadway emergencies?

Pre-planning, training, effective communications, increased situational awareness, and utilizing a unified command approach to roadway incidents lead to safe, efficient clearance of the roadway and less time being a target for “D” Drivers (Drunk, Drugged, Drowsy, Distracted, or just plain Dumb). This session will look at techniques and best practices for roadway safety for you and your emergency responders:

• Pre-Planning, What are our most frequent crash locations? 
  • Who responds and what are their roles in roadway emergencies?
  • What advanced, or early warning can be deployed or activated?
• Training
  • Effective blocking & positioning
  • Early warning
  • Setting up a Traffic Incident Management Area
  • Proper PPE
• Communications
  • Situational Awareness 
  • Effective communications from the Dispatch Center
  • Scene Size-Up
  • The need to communicate, properly
• Incident Command
  • The need for command
  • Unified Command
  • Changing the mindset of “We’ve Always Done it This Way” or We Tried That and It Didn’t Work”
• The Need for After Action Reviews or Hot Washes
  • Changing processes not pointing fingers.