Integrate an Interoperable Platform into a Traffic Incident Management (TIM) System For Enhanced Inter-Agency Coordination.
A Needs Assessment and Performance Evaluation of Louisiana’s TIM System to Identify Areas for Improvement.
Louisiana, United States
Improved Incident Response through Coordinated, Interoperable Communications
Summary Information
Traffic Incident Management (TIM) is “a planned and coordinated process to detect, respond to, and remove traffic incidents and restore traffic capacity as safely and quickly as possible.” When applied efficiently, TIM shortens incident duration, enhances safety, and lowers the risk of secondary crashes.
The objectives of this study were to conduct a needs assessment and performance evaluation of the TIM system in Louisiana, identify areas for TIM improvement, and explore interoperability as a solution to communication gaps. The research team first performed a literature review and obtained additional information through observation and 21 interviews in 2024. Two years of data (2022 and 2023) on incidents, dispatch times, response times, road clearance times, and incident clearance times were used to assess the TIM operations.
Louisiana’s TIM system uses various performance measures to evaluate its operations: Motorist Assistance Patrol (MAP) operator dispatch time, Traffic Management Center (TMC) event confirmation time, time to post messages to DMS, notification time of TIM partners and agencies, incident clearance and roadway clearance times, MAP on-scene time, and MAP roadway clearance time. Other performance measures include staff retention, adherence to TMC staffing minimums, TMC availability, and TMC operator complaints.
The needs assessment was conducted through interviews, questionnaires, and surveys of personnel directly involved in TIM from stakeholder response agencies. Researchers also interviewed managers and TIM practitioners from the Illinois Tollway, Florida DOT, and the City Government of Columbia, South Carolina to determine considerations and lessons learned from integrating interoperable communication platforms into TIM. Lessons learned included the following:
- Use web-based interoperable communications in TIM to speed up incident response by improving the exchange of information and response coordination. This study revealed that using wireless networks to connect disparate voice, data, and video systems across various agencies and disciplines is more cost-effective than a common radio platform and enables quicker incident response.
- Select only features that have value to the agency’s TIM when considering the purchase of a commercial web-based interoperable platform; purchasing complete platform suites may be unproductive and expensive.
- Identify and collect performance measures to track TIM performance statewide. Common performance measures allow for a unified approach to improve identified shortfalls. Sharing the measures can also help improve coordination across partner agencies.
- Establish a mechanism for reviewing and updating TIM policies regularly to incorporate technological advances and current best practices. This will ensure that the TIM program remains adaptive and effective.
- Treat interoperable communication platforms as secondary support systems to fully utilize their benefits. The study emphasized that these platforms are not a replacement for traditional TIM systems; rather, maintaining and strengthening existing systems is necessary to efficiently integrate these platforms.
