What is Next-Generation Traffic Incident Management (NextGen TIM): Technology for Saving Lives?
Next-Generation Traffic Incident Management technologies aim to increase traveler and responder safety, transforming response operations from routine to extraordinary. More than 6 million reportable crashes occur each year in the United States, resulting in 2 million injuries and more than 30,000 fatalities. Additionally, there are over 32 million disabled vehicles and countless incidents of roadway debris. Each of these events places responders and motorists at risk of secondary crashes. A planned and coordinated approach to handling these incidents is the essence of TIM. FHWA’s national TIM responder training program has successfully trained more than 600,000 responders to clear incidents collaboratively, safely, and quickly. In practice, TIM on all types of roadways has been shown to save lives, time, and money.
Technology for More Effective TIM
Today’s technology has the potential to leverage TIM responder training and enable incident responders to become more effective and efficient in their response duties. Clearing roadway incidents more quickly reduces exposure for incident responders and restores traffic for commerce, productivity, and quality of life for roadway users.
Technology such as smart emergency vehicle lighting can better inform roadway users about incidents, helping them avoid those locations or navigate around them more safely. Similarly, digital alerts can help responders at the scene of incidents be more aware and protected from the dangers of working near moving traffic. Use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) is reducing the amount of time responders spend mapping crash scenes. New debris removal tools will enhance the safe removal of dangerous roadway objects.
BENEFITS
Increased Safety. NextGen TIM feeds a larger TIM role in the Safe Systems approach, and more specifically post-crash care, by creating a safe working environment for vital first responders and preventing secondary crashes through robust TIM practices.
Improved Operations. Integrating new and emerging technology, tools, and training can mitigate incident impacts from detection to roadway clearance.
Better Situational Awareness. Technology delivers timely and critical information to on-scene responders, remote support functions like transportation management centers, and roadway users who are approaching traffic incidents.
Learn more about this EDC-7 Innovation.
NextGen TIM for Saving Lives in New Jersey
Stage of Innovation:
INSTITUTIONALIZED
(April 2023)
• Emergency Vehicle Lighting
• Advanced Warning Technologies
• Emergency Vehicle Preemption
NJDOT has advanced the TIM initiative with the deployment of emergency vehicle lighting and advanced warning technologies, the installation of light towers on their traffic incident management response trucks to enhance scene lighting, and use of LED flares at incident scenes. NJDOT has deployed the Drivewyze alert system to assist in reducing truck crashes by providing real-time stopped queue and slowdown notifications to commercial vehicle drivers.
Many local agencies are using LED flares. Some local agencies have used scene lighting for large-scale crashes. Hudson County and Bergen County have significant TIM resources.
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Organization, one of NJ’s three Metropolitan Planning Organizations, is currently spearheading a statewide effort in conjunction with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and NJ State Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) chapter to make the business case to support arterial management and traffic signal operations. A working group was formed to plan activities for the 2023 calendar year. There is a growing interest in planning and deploying transit signal priority and emergency vehicle preemption.
What’s Next?
The NJDOT/NJIT ITS Resource Center has developed a QR code, EDC-7 NextGen TIM survey as a way to collect more feedback from local agencies and emergency responders on their use of TIM innovations. Feedback from the survey will help inform NJDOT about the state of practice and possible steps for advancement of the initiative statewide.
Next steps involve the distribution of the survey to local agencies and emergency responders, analysis of the results, and determining implementation plan activities.
In addition, the NJDOT, NJTPA, and the FHWA NJ Division office will coordinate to plan and deliver an FHWA training session (i.e. Model Systems Engineering for Traffic Signal Control) on traffic signal control focusing on adaptive signal, Transit Signal Priority (TSP), and emergency vehicle preemption operations.
NextGen TIM Technology for Saving Lives: NEW AND NOTEWORTHY