managing travel for planned special events - FHWA Operations ...

Traffic Incident Quick ClearanceInitiativesagencies. Chapter 5 discusses contract towingservice for planned special events.Quick clearance is the practice of rapidlyand safely removing temporary obstructionsfrom the roadway. (25) Quick clearance practicesincrease the safety of traffic incidentresponders and victims by minimizing theirexposure to adjacent passing traffic. A reducedprobability of secondary incidentsaccompanies decreased congestion levelsresulting from fast removal of lane-blockingobstructions.A quick clearance practice consists of laws,policies, procedures, and infrastructureaimed at effecting the safe and timely removalof a traffic incident. Service patrols,as previously described, represent a quickclearance infrastructure component. Rapidclearance of traffic incidents during plannedspecial event ingress and egress avoids significantimpact to corridor and local trafficflow routes in addition to routes used by participantsand VIPs.The following quick clearance initiativesbenefit traffic incident management in highvolumecorridors, characteristic of plannedspecial events: (1) vehicle/cargo removallaws and policies, (2) stakeholder openroads policy, and (3) public-private towingcontracts. Vehicle removal laws requiredrivers to immediately move vehicles obstructingtravel lanes. Also, agencies haveauthority to aggressively clear vehicles andspilled cargo without incurring unnecessarydelay. Similar policies establish no stoppingzones in highly traveled locations. An interagencyopen roads policy informs traffic incidentresponders of the urgent need to rapidlyremove disabled or wrecked vehicles,spilled cargo, and debris that obstruct thenormal flow of traffic, and the policy disseminateskey guidelines to ensure a cooperativeincident removal effort betweenPractitioners should consult NCHRP Synthesis318, Safe and Quick Clearance ofTraffic Incidents, for state-of-the-practiceinformation about laws, policies, procedures,infrastructure, and technologies associatedwith developing a quick clearancepractice and increasing the efficiency of trafficincident removal operations. (25)Quick clearance represented the overarchingtheme within the Utah DOT traffic incidentmanagement plan for the 2002 WinterOlympics. Table 6-40 summarizes somenotable quick clearance strategies containedin the event traffic incident managementplan. The table also states statistics and performancemeasures that conclude the UtahDOT, together with its partner law enforcementand transportation agencies, developedand deployed a successful quick clearancepractice for the Olympics.Table 6-40Traffic Incident Quick Clearance for the2002 Winter Olympics (26)STRATEGY• Staging of heavy-duty tow trucks throughoutOlympic venue routes between 5:00 AM and 1:00PM (ingress).• Carrying of kits by incident responders to towevery type of bus used to transport people.• Use of photogrammetry by law enforcement duringincident investigations.• Deployment of heavy service patrol coverage toreduce the number of abandoned vehicles andlessen security concerns.EVALUATION STATISTIC• 29 vehicles were removed from incident scenes onthe athlete routes to facilitate traffic flow.• 12 fatality or critical crashes were investigated bylaw enforcement using photogrammetry in underone hour, and in one case, police shot an incidentscene with evidence markers within 30 minutes.• A serious injury crash was cleared in 23 minutesbecause of excellent teamwork.• Incident Management Team crews spent an averageof 70 minutes at each crash scene during theGames, down from an average of 115 minutes priorto the Games.• 2,306 motorists were assisted during the 17 days ofthe Games.6EVENT PROFILE POST-EVENT ACTIVITIES DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGOVERVIEW6-75