Today, emergency responders and those supporting Traffic Incident Management (TIM) operations participated in a live field exercise designed to give all disciplines a better understanding of TIM best practices.
This Traffic Incident Response Exercise (TIMEX), supported by the Nebraska Department of
Transportation (NDOT) and the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP), was held at the Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island. Law enforcement officers, fire and rescue personnel, emergency medical services, transportation agencies, towing and recovery professionals, notification and dispatch personnel, hazardous materials management responders, coroners and medical examiners, and public works professionals were represented from across the state. The multi-disciplinary training was an opportunity to expose responders to different aspects of a crash response, and foster an environment
to discuss best practices, lessons learned, and strategies for a cohesive response.
“Opportunities for responders to collaborate with those of different disciplines don’t come around as frequently as we’d like. Busy schedules, staffing, and the everyday demands of life make it difficult, but those challenges don’t overshadow the critical need to have this type joint training,” said Colonel John Bolduc, NSP Superintendent of Law Enforcement & Public Safety.
Participants worked side-by-side to walk through scenarios involving:
- Livestock emergencies
- Hazardous materials spills
- Establishing a traffic incident management area
- Safe, quick clearance strategies – push, pull, drag, drive
- Expedited crash investigation
- Air ambulance services
Each scenario incorporated key focuses on TIM fundamentals and terminology, incident command, interagency communications, and scene safety.
“Our goal at NDOT is to provide Nebraskans with the highest quality of life possible, and this includes our emergency responders. They dedicate their lives to providing for our safety, and their safety is our priority too,” NDOT Director Vicki Kramer said. “We’ve been planning TIMEX for months, and the need for such training became apparent this fall with the loss of two NDOT teammates. This month, we turn our eye to safety of our responders and roadside workers including Crash Responder Safety Week November 13-17 and celebrating continued collaboration with our safety partners. We want to show our support by continuing to invest in the skills and knowledge of our teams. At the end of the day, it’s all about our people.”
This exercise was part of a statewide effort to improve TIM on our roadways. Effective TIM keeps emergency responders, crash victims, and motorists safe. When crashes or disruptions occur, TIM practices reduce the duration and impacts of traffic incidents.
“Great efficiency in these situations means enhanced safety. We’re able to work together with other responders to address the situation, care for those involved, clear the roadway, and get traffic flowing again.” Said Major Jeff Wilcynski of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Every minutes saved in response to a crash reduces the risk of secondary crashes. This partnership has held over 100 training classes in Nebraska and has trained more than 250 agencies and 2,000 individual responders.
For more information, visit dot.nebraska.gov/safety/tim.
Photos from today’s event are available on the NDOT Flickr page.
Footage from the event is available here:
BRoll — https://nebraska.sharefile.com/d-scd947bfe851944f9b97f3579b658b781
SOTs — https://nebraska.sharefile.com/d-s060dc60f14724454bbabc4ab7abbdc7a