Responder Roles
Multiple agencies work with KC Scout to make the TIM Program possible.
Strategic coordination and communication among the groups ensures that each
is able to perform its duties and responsibilities in the most effective way possible.
Law Enforcement
Law enforcement agencies include State Police and Highway Patrols,
County Police and Sheriffs, Municipal Police, and other agencies which have officers sworn to uphold laws.
At the scene of a traffic incident their duties include:
- Securing the incident scene.
- Providing emergency medical aid until help arrives.
- Safeguarding personal property.
- Conducting accident investigations.
- Serving as incident commander.
- Supervising scene clearance.
- Assisting disabled motorists.
- Directing traffic.
Fire and Rescue
County and municipal fire departments, as well as surrounding fire departments,
provided fire and rescue services. Their roles and responsibilities at traffic incidents include:
- Protecting the incident scene.
- Suppressing fires.
- Providing emergency medical care.
- Serving as incident commander.
- Providing initial HAZMAT (hazardous materials) response and containment.
- Rescuing crash victims from wrecked vehicles.
- Rescuing crash victims from wrecked vehicles.
- Assisting with incident clearance.
- Providing traffic control until law enforcement or the Department of Transportation arrives.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
The primary responsibilities of EMS are triage, treatment, and transport of crash victims.
In some areas, fire and rescue companies both provide emergency medical services.
Roles and responsibilities for on-scene EMS personnel include:
- Providing advanced emergency medical care.
- Determining destination and transportation requirements for the injured.
- Coordinating evacuation with fire, police, and ambulance, or airlift.
- Serving as incident commander for medical emergencies.
- Determining approximate cause of injuries for the trauma center.
- Removing medical waste from the incident scene.
Operations
Managing resources effectively at freeway incidents is essential in the fight against congestion.
Both the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)
value good incident management and staffed the first Traffic Incident Management (TIM)
Program in the country to coordinate traffic incident management across state lines.
KC Scout's TIM Program is responsible for coordinating multiple entities for both states
and its level coordination is paramount.
The program is typically responsible for the overall planning and implementation of traffic incident management for
the KC Metro area. KDOT and MoDOT are involved in the development, implementation,
and operation of traffic management centers, as well as the management of service patrols.
The Departments and their Motorist Assist patrols assume the following operational responsibilities:
- Assisting with incident detection and verification.
- Initiating traffic management strategies on impacted facilities.
- Protecting the incident scene.
- Initiating emergency medical assistance until help arrives.
- Providing traffic control.
- Assisting motorists with disabled vehicles.
- Providing motorists with information.
- Providing sand for absorbing small fuel and anti-freeze spills.
- Providing special equipment for clearing incident scenes.
- Determining incident clearance and roadway repair needs.
- Establishing and operating alternate routes.
- Coordinating clearance and repair resources.
- Serving as incident commander for clearance and repair functions.
- Repairing transportation infrastructure.
Towing and Recovery
Towing and recovery service providers are responsible for the safe
and efficient removal of wrecked or disabled vehicles and debris from the incident scene.
Their typical responsibilities include:
- Recovering and removing vehicles from incident scenes.
- Protecting victims' property and vehicles.
- Removing debris from the roadway.
- Providing other services, such as traffic control, as directed or under contract.
Public Safety
Public safety communications services are the 911 call takers and dispatchers.
Call takers route emergency calls to appropriate dispatch.
In some areas, dispatchers also notify KC Scout Traffic System Operators who begin looking for the incident on
KC Scout's network of cameras to help guide emergency responders directly to the scene, thereby minimizing response time.
Traffic Information Media
Traffic information service providers are primarily private sector companies that gather and
disseminate traffic condition information. These private partners are the chief source of information
for commercial radio traffic information broadcasts. Traffic Information Media also work closely
with KC Scout Traffic System Operators to obtain the most reliable traffic information.
In recent years, many internet sites have been created to provide road condition and traffic information.
A mix of public sector agencies and private information service providers maintain these sites.
They use KC Scout and the Traffic Incident Management Program's data to provide accurate information.