››› Session 2

Incident Management Expert Focus Groups - An Overview

Rebecca Brewster   Project Manager, National Incident Management Coalition

Over the past decade, coordinated incident management efforts in the United States have gained momentum as more and more transportation agencies seek ways to safely and efficiently handle congestion. Incident management, once considered a disjointed activity fraught with turf battles and jurisdictional conflicts, has, in many places around the country, become a showcase of collaborative efforts between the various incident management stakeholders. In recognition of the growing importance of incident management programs and transportation operations in general, there are a number of initiatives currently underway throughout the nation aimed at improving overall transportation operations. Incident management is also being advanced through the efforts of the National Incident Management Coalition (NIMC), which was formed in 1991 in response to the growing congestion on our nation's highways. In addition to its conference program, the NIMC, through its lead organization the American Trucking Associations Foundation (ATAF), conducted incident management best practices research and from this published the report entitled Incident Management - Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions for Advancing Safety and Roadway Efficiency. This research was conducted with the assistance of two Incident Management Expert Focus Groups - tapping the expertise of incident management practitioners from around the country. To assist the FHWA as it plans for future incident management activities, the NIMC was asked to conduct another series of Incident Management Expert Focus Groups, with professionals from over 20 programs across the nation. Represented were state DOTs, local DOTs, fire, police, metropolitan planning organizations and the towing and recovery industry. The purpose of these Focus Groups was to: develop a benchmark of the current state-of-practice in incident management, identify the greatest challenges, document what future state of incident management practice will and should be and identify what performance measures and benchmarks can be used to evaluate incident management programs. Session 2 - Brewster Smart.Traffic - 1-3 May 2001 2