Free webinar set for Nov. 13
By Gary Giacomo
Each day around the clock, fire and rescue, emergency medical services (EMS) law enforcement,), and even public works, private towing, and other responders work to make roadways safe for motorists. First responders to traffic incidents put their lives at risk when working on roadways, clearing each of the nearly 7 million motor vehicle crashes and many more incidents that involve stalled vehicles or roadway debris each year.
Crash Responder Safety Week (CRSW) takes place Nov. 13–17, 2023. This Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)-sponsored initiative communicates the simple steps everyone can take to keep roadway responders and the public safe around traffic incidents.
This year’s theme is “Protect Those Who Protect You.” Participate in the National Kickoff Webinar for CRSW 2023, on Monday, Nov. 13, from 1-2:30 p.m. EST, for an opportunity to honor responders, sign the CRSW National Proclamation, and learn more about this year’s theme and the activities planned for the week.
The FHWA and its National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) have established day-of-week themes for this year’s campaign. For each day’s theme, many resources are provided for the public and responder education:
To stay up-to-date on the latest traffic incident management (TIM) practices being implemented around the country, you can sign up for the NOCoE’s newsletter to receive notifications on upcoming webinars in the NOCoE’s monthly Talking TIM series. Webinars in this series regularly feature briefings from departments of transportation and public safety agencies on innovative TIM practices that directly impact responder safety on roadways. Some topics related to responder safety that were covered in recent webinars, now available on demand, include:
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- The June 2023 Talking TIM webinar featured a briefing from the Grover Heights (Minnesota) Fire Department on using fire apparatus to protect responders and communicate with drivers, along with a related presentation on how to retrofit aging fire apparatus into traffic management units.
- The July 2023 Talking TIM webinar featured a briefing from the Maricopa Association of Governments in the Phoenix, Arizona, region on emergency vehicle preemption.
- The August 2023 Talking TIM webinar featured a briefing on medical helicopter landing zone considerations for roadway crashes and another briefing on wearable 360-degree lighting for roadside visibility.
- The October 2023 Talking TIM webinar discussed the state of practice of Safety Service Patrol programs, featuring briefings from the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the DOT VOLPE Center.
Register for the National Kickoff Webinar for CRSW 2023 on Nov. 13, and visit the NOCoE’s website to learn more.
Finally, if you are involved in a roadway incident where you, a fellow responder, or any emergency equipment was struck or nearly struck by an oncoming vehicle, you can now easily report the incident to the national database, ReportStruckBy.com. The Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) has been collecting struck-by incident data directly from responders since the launch of ReportStruckBy.com in 2021. ERSI published its initial analysis on the data collected so far in September 2023.
