Author

Dr. Hualiang (Harry) Teng
Polytechnic University

Description

Incident and emergency management is one of the areas that has received numerous benefits from applying ITS. Incidents contribute nearly 60 % of annual roadway congestion and thus should be detected, verified, responded to, and cleared as quickly as possible. The importance of Incident and Emergency Management is at the basis of this course, in which incident characteristics and impact, incident detection, emergency response, site management, and allocation of resources are discussed at length. The material presented is further illustrated by the case-studies of incident management programs around the country.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Discuss why incident management and emergency management are necessary
• List incident detection methods that can be used for freeway systems
• Identify some problems existing in the development of incident detection algorithms
• Discuss emergency response, site management, and incident clearance strategies
• Describe motorist information technologies

Audience

Public-sector Transportation Professionals including US DOT engineers, planners, project managers, and field staff, FTA Regional staff, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Specialists, and others as appropriate. Transportation professionals from state, regional, and local agencies would also benefit from participation in the course.

Length

Approximately eight hours.

Prerequisites

Students should have a basic familiarity with ITS, the ITS user services, the National ITS Architecture and advanced transportation management systems (ATMS) and surveillance technologies.

Course Outline

1. Lesson 1. Incident Characteristics and Impacts
   1. Incident Types
   2. Incident Impacts
   3. Incident Management Process
   4. Program Initiation
2. Lesson 2. Detection and Verification
   1. Combined Detection and Verification Techniques
   2. Sequential Detection and Verification Techniques
   3. Freeway Incident Detection
      1. Comparative Algorithms
         1. The California Algorithm
         2. Other Comparative Algorithm
      2. Time Series Algorithm
      3. The McMaster Algorithm
      4. Artificial Intelligence Algorithms
         1. Artificial Neural Network Algorithms
         2. Fuzzy Logic Algorithms
      5. Macroscopic Algorithms
         1. The Port of New York Authority (PNYA) Algorithm
         2. The Multiple Model (MM) Algorithm and the General Likelihood Ration (GLR) Algorithm
   4. Evaluation Criteria
   5. Algorithm Performance
3. Lesson 3. Emergency Response
   1. Resource Allocation
   2. Incident Classification Schemes
   3. Incident Support System
   4. Incident Response Manual
   5. Hazardous Material Manual
   6. Transportation
   7. Traffic Signal Preemption
   8. Emergency Crossovers
   9. Air-Ambulance Programs
   10. Emergency Telemedicine System
4. Lesson 4. Site Management
   1. Interagency Coordination
      1. Integrated Communications
      2. 800 Megahertz System
      3. Incident Command Post
      4. Incident Response Teams
   2. Traffic Control
      1. Traffic Control Guidelines
      2. Manually Controlled Merging
      3. Ramp Diversion
      4. Use of Shoulders
      5. Contraflow Diversion
      6. Elimination of HOV Lane Restrictions
      7. Staging of Response Vehicles and the Use of Flashing Lights
      8. Alternate Routes
      9. Preplanned Traffic Control Scenarios
5. Lesson 5. Incident Clearance
   1. Accident Investigation
      1. Police Accident Reports
      2. Comprehensive Investigations
      3. Data Collection
      4. Coordinate Method
      5. Total Station Surveying
   2. Incident Removal
      1. Towing/Wrecker Service
      2. Roadway Service Patrol
      3. Equipment Storage Sites
6. Lesson 6. Motorist Information
   1. Pre-Trip Information
      1. Computers and the Internet
      2. Television
      3. 511
   2. En-Route Information
      1. Dynamic Message Signs
      2. Highway Advisory Radio
      3. Lane Control signals
      4. Commercial Radio