Advance Warning
These Resources provide you with information on Advance Warning equipment and protocols, including traffic control devices, their deployment, and SOPs/SOGs. Please note that a module on Advance Warning is available on the Responder Safety Learning Network (learning.respondersafety.com).
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I-70 Multi-Vehicle, Multi-Fatality Collision
Explore the traffic incident management lessons learned from this secondary crash incident.
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New Retrofitted Technology for Traffic Units
A tour of Traffic 9, which is retrofitted with six low cost, high impact technologies that improve responder safety.
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The Dangerous Five: Steering Clear of Roadside Recovery Mistakes
An article by David Lewis for American Towman (May 2024) that highlights five key factors in struck-by incidents on the roadway and how to avoid or mitigate them.
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Roadway Safety Short: Traffic Incident Management at Wildfires (Short Video)
A short training video reinforcing key traffic incident management practices decrease to decrease responders’ risk of being struck by vehicles at wildfires.
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Traffic Incident Management in the Wildland-Urban Interface Training Program
This zip file contains all training materials for the Emergency Responder Safety Institute’s Traffic Incident Management in the Wildland-Urban Interface Training Program.
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Protecting Emergency Responders from Moving Vehicles During Wildfire Responses (Project Report)
This Emergency Responder Safety Institute report summarizes research and subject matter expert input into how to develop a training approach that improves wildfire
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Roadway Incident Cue Card for Wildfire Responses 2: Essential Actions for Roadway Incidents or Operational Along Roadways
A visual aid to use during wildfire response to assist in setting up a traffic incident management area (TIMA) when wildfires or wildfire operations impact roadways.
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Traffic Incident Management at Wildfires: Part 2 (PowerPoint Presentation)
A training presentation to accompany the report Protecting Emergency Responders from Moving Vehicles During Wildfire Responses to teach traffic incident management practices for safe, efficient operations, including pre-planning, advance warning, visibility, blocking, backing up, and evacuation.
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Roadway Incident Cue Card for Wildfire Responses 1: Implementing a Traffic Incident Management Area at Wildfires
A visual aid to use during wildfire response to remember “must do” safety actions when responders are operating on foot near moving vehicles.
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Traffic Incident Management at Wildfires: Part 1 (PowerPoint Presentation)
A training presentation to accompany the report Protecting Emergency Responders from Moving Vehicles During Wildfire Responses to teach contributing factors to wildfire traffic-related incidents, key safety considerations, avoidance and mitigation actions, recommended responder actions, and incident command.
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Hardening Blocking Vehicles for Traffic Incidents and Planned Special Events
This report summarizes a workshop convened during the 2018 National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week on how to harden blocking vehicles to protect responders and the public.
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Impacts of Emergency Vehicle Marking Color, Patterns and Retroreflectivity on Safety-Related Driver Responses: Study Report
This ERSI study reports the results of a field experiment to investigate the impacts of emergency vehicle marking color, retroreflectivity level and spatial patterns on drivers’ ability to see emergency responders working near their vehicles was carried out. The study also examined the impacts of a wearable flashing LED light.
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Struck-By Survivor Stories Video
What happens after an emergency responder is struck by a vehicle? Five emergency responders changed forever by a struck by experience tell their stories.
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Effects of Emergency Vehicle Lighting on Drivers
“Effects of Emergency Vehicle Lighting Characteristics on Driver Perception and Behavior: Study Report” is an ERSI report of human factors research in cooperation with RPI and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The study investigates the impact of lighting color, intensity, modulation, flash rate, and presence of retroreflective chevron markings on driver behavior while traversing a simulated traffic incident scene at night. Findings cover the effects of lamp intensity, lamp color, and retroreflective markings on the visibility of a simulated responder at a test incident scene. Whether these factors create a “moth to flame” effect was also examined. The report describes the experiment design, the tasks researchers completed, and the results observed.
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Connecticut Traffic Incident Scene Management Field Guide
Developed by the Capitol Region Council of Governments Greater Hartford Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Coalition, this field guide provides guidance for traffic incident scene management for emergency response organizations. Includes TIM and responder safety basic principles, guidelines for deploying traffic control devices, recommended TIM procedures, and practical diagrams of traffic control applications like vehicle classification, stopping distances, and traffic incident management area setups for different roadway configurations.
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Citizens’ Hose Company Struck By Case Study
Go inside the December 17, 2020 struck by incident that shook Citizens’ Hose Company (Smyrna, DE) to its core and hear from the firefighters involved what happened, how traffic control made the difference, and how the department has responded moving forward.
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Fire Apparatus Emergency Lighting Study Report
This report details the history of how the current fire apparatus lighting standards were developed, summarizes the last 20 years of research on emergency lighting, and has the results of a study done in May 2019 specifically addressing what changes should be made to fire apparatus lighting standards in response to the change to LED lighting.
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Study of Protecting Emergency Responders on the Highways and Operation of Emergency Vehicles
A Review of First Responder Agencies Who Have Adopted Emergency Lighting and Vehicle Conspicuity Technology. *A new draft and been issued on June 12, 2019 with two corrections on page 27.*
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Traffic Incident Management Area (TIMA)
Traffic Incident Management Area (TIMA)
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PPE & Warning Sign Reflectivity Comparison
Don’t be "That" Guy! PPE & Warning Sign Reflectivity Comparison
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Highway Incident Safety and MUTCD Guidelines for Emergency Responders
The Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association (CVVFA) and their Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) developed this manual and the accompanying online-based training course for first responders and other personnel who respond to roadway incident scenes. In the initial minutes of a roadway incident, responders often find themselves operating in moving traffic at great peril.
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The First 15 Minutes - Decision Making at Roadway Incidents
This Power Point program provides training for responders on the first arriving apparatus at a highway incident. The first 15 minutes of an incident often sets the tone for the entire response. Learn how practices such as “windshield size up” can make the scene safer.
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Florida Highway Patrol Enhancing Rear - Approach Conspicuity of Police Vehicles
The nature of law enforcement work requires police vehicles be frequently stopped on or near roadways, exposing them to a risk of rear-end type collisions. Beyond emergency vehicle lighting, what treatments can enhance vehicle conspicuity to mitigate those risks?
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Florida Highway Patrol Emergency Lighting Research & Prototype Evaluation
Beginning in 1998, the Florida Highway Patrol began to examine safety issues surrounding the roadside environment in which we do much of our work. This began with a holistic approach, looking into all aspects of the issue. This includes working with manufacturers to make the vehicles safer, the installation of aftermarket equipment, policies and procedures for making the stops and working outside the vehicle as a pedestrian.
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Emergency Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity Study
This report, produced in partnership between the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), analyzes emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity with an eye toward expanding efforts in these areas to improve vehicle and roadway operations safety for all emergency responders. Emphasis in this report is placed on passive visibility/conspicuity treatments. Key finidings include additional research on emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity in the United States, with particular emphasis on the interaction between civilian drivers and emergency vehicles during responses and on incident scenes.
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Evaluation of Chemical and Electric Flares
Following a brief literature review, this research project conducted a comparison of the different flares and related traffic control devices in order to identify and examine alternative highway flare systems utilizing chemical or electric sources of energy to determine their suitability and visibility.
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Position of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute on the Use of Advance Warning Traffic Signs
This statement presents the position of the CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute on the use of temporary traffic signs for advance warning at roadway incidents.