Orlando, Florida, United States
Interoperability Communications in TIM
Background
The inability to communicate and partner with other agencies during traffic incidents prompted the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to implement an interoperability platform to its communication network. The initiative of implementing the platform was to improve their situational awareness during traffic incidents, which would lead to reduced clearance times and congestion and safer crash scenes. This platform consisted of video sharing, GPS locations, and files of emergency scenes, which allowed responders and communicators to seamlessly coordinate TIM together.
Lessons Learned
Increased interoperability between FDOT’s communication center, incident responders, and partner agencies with the use of video sharing, GPS locations, and files of emergency scenes provided a direct link between the Traffic Management Centers (TMC) and communication centers, which solved the original problem of lack of situational awareness and communication.
The interagency communication and data sharing led to reduced roadway clearance times and congestion and minimized the risk of secondary crashes.
- Communication is important during emergency response efforts, but it is an issue that can be fixed with TIM technology.
- By working together, FDOT and other agencies were able to better coordinate TIM in response to traffic incidents, allowing for faster clearance times, reduced congestion, and reduced the risk of secondary crashes.
- A direct link between the traffic management center (TMC) and first responders allowed for coordinated TIM response and lifted the burden off other agency resources.
