Every day, firefighters, EMS, and other first responders rush to thousands of traffic incidents. Yet while these responders are working to save lives, they face the risk of being struck while on the scene. Sadly, 44 emergency responders were struck and killed by vehicles in 2019. National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week takes place November 9-15 to raise awareness of this issue, reduce responder injuries and fatalities, and help emergency responders, drivers, and passengers understand the role they play. National Traffic Incident Response Awareness Week is run by the Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Incident Management (TIM) program and is joined by a variety of partners representing every type of response discipline to call special attention to public safety.
In the past few years, state DOT’s Turnpike Authorities, and responder agencies used this week to create:
- Targeted DMS messaging
- Ride-along opportunities
- Video sharing
- Social media campaigns
- Open houses
- Special exercise activities
- Events marking the lost lives in preventable crashes
TIM Network resources available include:
- Opportunities for media to ride with responders or safety patrols
- Firehouse, police station, EMS garage, or tow truck tours
- TIM Responder training courses
- Outreach material distribution
Online training programs of use include:
Be sure to use the hashtags #NationalTrafficIncidentResponseAwarenessWeek and #MoveOverSlowDown when promoting on social media.
Interestingly, this also coincides with National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization (Click it or Ticket). Seat belts have been proven to be one of the best ways to save your life in a crash. Yet, many still do not buckle up. Worse still, not wearing a seat belt is a habit that will pass on to impressionable youth who, in turn, will think it is safe to not buckle up. The Click It or Ticket campaign focuses on safety education, strong laws, and law enforcement support to save lives.
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