Ohio Fire Chiefs' Association
Annual Conference
July 22 & 23, 2006
Ohio QuickClear
Professional Responders Guide
for Safe and Effective Highway
Incident Management
Ohio QuickClear
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: [email protected]
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
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.”
Ohio QuickClear
Video Clip
Ohio QuickClear
Incidents Happen
Ohio QuickClear
Freeway Management System
Ohio QuickClear
History
• Growing concern
about crashes and
traffic congestion
• Formed in August
2002 by Directors of
the Ohio Departments
of Public Safety and
Transportation
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
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%
Ohio QuickClear
Objective - Safety
Ohio QuickClear
Objective - Congestion
• More than half of
all congestion is
caused by
incidents
• Each minute of
closure results in
eight minutes of
congestion delay
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
Pictures of Incidents
Ohio QuickClear
Best Practices by Agency
All Agencies
•Contact appropriate
personnel
• Coordinate plans with
each other
• Cooperation among
agencies
Ohio QuickClear
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.
Ohio QuickClear
Best Practices by Agency
Fire and EMS
• Traffic control methods
• Coordination with other
agencies when possible
• Effective training
• Effective
communication
• Incident Commander
• Safety
Ohio QuickClear
Best Practices by Agency
Law Enforcement
•Traffic control
• Salvage recovery
• Coordination
• With Fire
• With Transportation
• Scene assessment
• Incident Command
System
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
Freeway Service Patrol
Freeway service patrol programs
that enlist full-time support reduce
incident duration by 15 to 30
percent over programs with parttime staff.
Ohio QuickClear
ODOT Activities - ARTIMIS
Ohio QuickClear
ODOT Activities – Columbus FMS
Ohio QuickClear
ODOT Activities – Playbook
Ohio QuickClear
Best Practices by Agency
Towing and Recovery
• Pre-qualification
• Proper training
• Safety first
• Restore travel lanes
when possible
Ohio QuickClear
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!
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
Driver Opportunities
Adopt “Steer It and Clear It”
Ohio QuickClear
Secondary Crash Example
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
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
Ohio QuickClear
Major Incident Review
• Review previous
results
• Communicate to
ensure previous
conflicts are avoided
Ohio QuickClear
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: [email protected]
Ohio QuickClear
Questions