Emergency responders and those supporting Traffic Incident Management (TIM) operations recently participated in a field exercise designed to give all disciplines a better understanding of TIM best practices.
The Nebraska Panhandle TIM group, supported by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) and regional emergency management agencies, held the exercise at the Western Nebraska-Scottsbluff Regional Airport in Scottsbluff. Law enforcement officers, fire and rescue personnel, emergency medical services, emergency management, emergency communications, transportation agencies and towing and recovery professionals were represented by 22 agencies.
The multi-disciplinary training exercise exposed first responders to different aspects of a crash response and fostered an environment to discuss best practices, lessons learned and strategies for safe, quick clearance.
Participants worked side-by-side to simulate responding to a vehicle crash, which allowed them to:
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Establish a traffic incident management area.
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Provide for personal and patient safety while working near traffic.
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Develop and execute a multi-agency response.
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Demonstrate effective time- and scene-management skills.
Following the exercise, the responders held an after-action review session to debrief the crash as a group and review best practices, lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.
“This exercise was a great way to understand the pressures during these dangerous situations. It also helped all agencies to collaborate with each other. Our district’s teams can feel confident in quickly and safely clearing crashes,” said Scotts Bluff District I County Commissioner Mike Blue, who also represented the Scotts Bluff County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), one of the agencies that observed the exercise.
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.
