Good Practice Traffic Incident Management - Florida

The Florida Traffic Incident Management (TIM) program began in the early 1990s in Seminole County, east of Orlando, Florida. Seminole Country initiated a Freeway Incident Management Team to address frequent incidents and resulting congestion along the I-4 Corridor, between Orlando and Daytona. Eventually, this team expanded to what is now the Tri-County TIM Team.

A key element in Florida's TIM program is an active team effort and participation from the various agencies. TIM participants include staff from FDOT headquarters and district offices, FHP headquarters and district offices, fire departments throughout the State, metropolitan planning and transportation organizations, environmental protection agencies, professional wreckers of Florida, and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise.

During an incident, TIM agencies coordinate primarily through emails. These emails provide emergency contact phone numbers for agencies that will respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, additional technology integration between TIM partners is occurring in the area of voice and data communications. FDOT is helping to fund the upgrade of the FHP CAD Server, from which FDOT will be able to collect incident information statewide. Currently, FDOT, FHP, and the I-4 Road Ranger Program have a pilot program underway. As a result, FDOT on-call personnel and the I-4 Road Rangers are able to access the FHP Radio system. FHP troopers are able to communicate with DOT, and vice versa. These types of cooperation, coordination, and integration have been very effective during incidents and emergency situations such as hurricane evacuations.

Florida has enjoyed substantial success in the past several years. A few highlights are provided below:

• Implementation of State and local "Open Roads" policies. These written agreements commit the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Highway Patrol, Law Enforcement, Fire Rescue, and the Medical Examiner's Office to clear all incidents within 90 minutes after the arrival of the first responding officer.
• A "Road Ranger" program that includes 88 vehicles covering 918 centerline miles. Florida estimates that this program has resulted in statewide fuel savings of 1.7 million gallons every month. Not only does the Road Ranger program cut down on fuel consumption and harmful emissions, it also has a benefit-cost ratio, based on delay and fuel savings, of nearly 26:1.
• A "Severe Incident Response Vehicle" pilot program that provides an incident command station and support to FDOT and Road Rangers during major incidents such as tractor-trailer rollovers, hazardous material incidents, and fatalities
• Statewide streamlined vehicle fluids spill policy
• Streamlined investigation procedures using new technology
• Development of a statewide business plan for long-term funding and management of TIM.