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Nation’s Emergency Responders Unite, Ask Motorist to “Slow Down, Move Over”

NATION’S EMERGENCY RESPONDERS UNITE FOR SAFER, QUICKER CLEARANCE OF TRAFFIC INCIDENTS; ASK MOTORISTS TO “SLOW DOWN, MOVE OVER”

Tuesday, November 20, News Conference

Montgomery County Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC) EMTs, Firefighters, Highway Workers, Law Enforcement Officers, Tow Truck Operators, 9-1-1 Professionals Kick Off Implementation of National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management

The National Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC) will sponsor a national news conference as the Thanksgiving travel rush begins to increase public awareness that reducing traffic congestion and increasing roadway safety requires responders and motorists to work together. The Coalition will officially release a joint policy statement committing its member organizations to an ongoing, united multidisciplinary effort to work together more effectively and clear traffic incidents more efficiently and safely.

In turn, the responders will ask motorists to slow down and move over when they approach traffic incident scenes, in order to reduce the number of responders injured and killed from being struck by passing vehicles while working on the roadside, and enable them to more quickly clear the incident.

Representatives of responder disciplines will make brief formal remarks, followed by one-on-one interview opportunities with the speakers and with representatives of other NTIMC member organizations. Speakers include Federal Highway Administration Administrator Rick Capka, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett , and national representatives of NTIMC, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AAA, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of State EMS Officials, and the Towing and Recovery Association of America.

Traffic incidents account for about one-quarter of all congestion on U.S. roadways. For every minute that a freeway travel lane is blocked during a peak travel period, four minutes of travel delay results after the incident is cleared. Safer, more efficient traffic incident management will reduce congestion by reducing incident duration. Clearing incidents quicker also reduces the risk of secondary crashes (crashes that occur at the incident scene or in the back-up queue.)

One of the leading causes of death and injury for emergency responders is being struck by vehicles while working alongside the roadway. Motorists can avert tragedy by slowing down, and moving over if they can do so safely, when they see the emergency roadside vehicles and responders.

When 10:00 am Tuesday, November 20.
Where Montgomery County Public Safety Communications Center, 1300 Quince
Orchard Blvd., Gaithersburg, MD 20878. PRESS CREDENTIALS REQUIRED
Contact Karen Haas ▪ 301-762-4227 ▪ editorsink@starpower.net