ITS SUMMIT:IRF

ROAD INCIDENT MANAGEMENT

Gail Bester8 March 2012

• SANRAL background

• Strategies to improve Road Incident Management

• National Road IMS for South Africa

• International Lessons Learned

• IM and Freeway Management System(FMS) in Gauteng

• Conclusion

Table of Contents

SANRAL background

• SANRAL is an Agency of the Ministry of Transport, operating as an independent agency

• Derives its mandate from the SANRAL Act, No. 7 of 1998;

• Build ,Manage and maintain 16 170 km of national road network, includes both toll and non-toll network;

• 81% non-toll roads and 19% toll;

• SANRAL mandated by National Transport Policy to implement IMS on its network

Description Non Toll State Toll BOT Total

DualCarriageway

610 520 443 1 573

4-LaneUndivided

11 299 240 550

2-LaneSingle

12 429 1013 605 14 047

Total 13 050 1 832 1 288 16 170% of SANRAL Network 81% 11% 8%

National Road network

• Managing traffic incidents is a proven strategy for addressing significant portions of traffic congestion.

• Traffic incident management programs have demonstrated success in improving mobility, safety, efficiency, productivity, energy and environment, and customer satisfaction.

• Traffic incident management programs make use of a variety of ITS technologies to successfully detect, manage, and clear traffic incidents

Incident Management

Strategies to Improve IM

Effective IM requires a toolbox of strategies:• Political level

• Political support in the form of policy and top-level management support for IM-focused objectives

• Institutional level• The Institutional cooperation, understanding and collaboration need to be

in place for an effective programme

• Functional level• The functional elements need to be implemented in the form of new

services and new processes

• Technological level• Technology tools can support real-time monitoring and faster response to

freeway incidents

• In July 1996, a National Incident Management Technical Committee was established to prepare national guidelines and a policy on the development, implementation and maintenance of Incident Management in South Africa.

• IMS is still being implemented in a fragmented way throughout South Africa, warranting a review.

• The DOT together with SANRAL were mandated to develop a National Policy, Framework and Guidelines for IMS in the country, involving all stakeholders.

Political /Policy Level

• The documents will to ensure that the development of further RIMSs take place in a consistent manner.

• Establishing a Governance Structure for Road Incident Management.

• RIMS National Technical Committee • RIMS Provincial Coordinating Committee

• Developing Procedures and Protocols incorporated in a Guideline Plan for operational application.

•  • Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement amongst all the

organizations/agencies regarding accepted procedures and protocols to be followed in the event of any incident.

Political /Policy Level cont…

• National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No 93 of 1996) deals with accidents and accident reports. The scope of this chapter was extended to also cover Incident Management Systems through an Act amendment by making an empowering provision and referring to the IMS Policy as one of the schedules to the NRTA.

• The proposal is to add section 62A “ Response to road incident”.62A In the event of a road incident, the emergency services shall immediately respond to the incident and render all the necessary services in compliance with the Incident Management System Policy as shown in Schedule 5 and any applicable legislation.

Political /Policy Level cont….

• Consultation will take place and it is envisaged that it will be approved by the Minister of Transport end of March 2012.

• Road Shows at all provinces will start for 1 April 2012 to inform all stakeholders of the content of the new material.

Political /Policy Level cont….

• In the U.S. 49 states implemented at least one of these laws – only 24 have implemented all three.

• Quick Clearance – quickly removing any vehicles involved in an incident from the scene to maintain mobility along the roadway

• Move It Over – the motorist is to move to another lane or slow down when approaching responders/tow trucks/public safety (police, fire) to provide a “safe zone”

• Remove it – motorists move vehicles out of the travel lanes following a minor, non-injury incident – here is where information is exchanged

• One of the biggest concerns is ensuring the public is aware of the laws and what they mean.

Example: Political /Policy intervention

• Inter-agency teams/intergovernmental agreements• Cape Town co-located TMC • Joint funding and cooperation agreements

• Agreement on processes and policies to overcome institutional barriers:

• Common goals, common objectives• Standardise practices, • Awareness of partner roles• Benefits are beyond any single role player

Institutional level

• Provision of a 24/7 value add services in Gauteng to ensure safe will be deployed at satellite centers strategically deployed across the Freeway network in Gauteng

• Number of vehicle services deployed:• 8 Heavy tow and recovery units ( Rigs)• 10 Light Towing and recovery unit ( roll backs)• 10 Incident Response Unit• 10 Motorcycle Medic Response Units

• Services will be dispatched from the TMC for a quick response time of between 12 and 15 minutes to each accident scene, in normal traffic conditions.

Functional level

Satellite Centre

Coverage

Assumptions

12 mins at ave of 80km/h = 16km

Turnaround only possible at next interchange

•Responsibilities include:• Coordinate incident scene, Remove vehicles obstructing traffic and vehicles, Provide basic and intermediate life support to patients on scene, cleaning of minor debris

•Example: Netherlands• Response time as a measure for towing contractors• Staging tow trucks at high volume incident locations• Incident auditors to track performance and adherence to

standards

Functional level

Incident Response(Tennessee DOT andIllinois DOT)

• Tennessee DOT HELP vehicles include cones, arrow boards, and are powerful enough to push or pull a commercial vehicle out of a lane

TDOT HELP Vehicle Pulling a Commercial Vehicle

c

IDOT Minutemen Heavy Wrecker Demonstration

Note flip up arrow board

Florida Road Rangers

• Road Ranger vehicles carry the following equipment:• Reflective cones • Flashing arrow board• Flares• 5 gallons of speedy dry• Fire extinguishers• Air compressor• Booster cables• 2-ton jacket• Auto fluids• Wood blocks• Cell phone• First aid kits• Water

Flip Up Arrow Board

• Technology to assist with IM

• Traveler information (VMS, websites, etc.)

• Responder communications (remote scene monitoring, prompt dispatch, i.e Sweden has pioneered use of incident response vehicles that have truck mounted VMS, a video camera to transmit scene images to TMC, and also equipped with attenuators on the back of the vehicle to help protect responders on-site)

• Incident investigations (CCTV, detectors, assistance patrols, etc.)

• Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) to support IM • SMS• Twitter• Mobile Apps

Technical level

SwedenArrow Board and Full Color Matrix VMS and flip down attenuator

Services will be managed by the TMC utilizing:• Computer Aided dispatch (CAD) for

emergency and enforcement vehicles• Automated Vehicle Identification

(AVI)• Automated Vehicle Location (AVL)

To effectively manage roadway and provide a safer and efficient network

Dedicated freeway enforcement unit

First Responders: Incident Response Service

Incident Recovery Service

On Road Services

• The most significant findings of traffic incident management programs ability to reduce the duration of traffic incidents, most studies finding savings of 30 to 40 %..

• Service patrol in Hampton Roads, Virginia, decreased the average incident duration by 70.7 percent

• Service patrol in Northern Virginia on average decreased incident duration by 15.6 percent for crashes, 25 percent for roadway debris, and 17.2 percent for breakdowns.

• A San Antonio, Texas deployment of VMS, combined with an incident management program, resulted in a 2.8 % decrease in crashes.

• The Coordinated Highway Action Response Team in Maryland reduced incident duration and related secondary incidents by 29%.

USDOT lessons learned 2011

Reported Benefits

• In an effort to support World Government initiative Decade of Action (DoA) to reduce the effect of poor road safety.

• The amendment of legislation, drafting of a national framework, policy and procedures manual is a welcomed intervention to embed the ethos and principles of co-operation and teamwork when dealing with incidents.

•The introduction of technology will assist in effectively managing our road network. “ITS is more than just technology, it’s a culture” UNECE (United Nations economic Commission for Europe)

•Action and smart interventions are needed to retain a vibrant transport sector that can adjust to global trends, economic state and local environment.

Conclusion

THANK YOUbesterg@nra.co.za