1. Incident Response in Washington State
Washington State Department of
Transportation

2. Identifying The Need
A major UW study looked at congestion and incidents
Major Corridors in Seattle.
58% of Congestion was Incident related
$2,700 of cost related to each minute of congestion

3. Identifying The Need 1990 – Pilot Service Patrols Program
Goodwill Games
UW evaluated
Decreased time to identify and locate incidents
Decreased tune required to clear most incidents

4. Program Structure Initial program established in 1990
One Incident Response Engineer
Looked at IR as 4 separate but related activities for improvements:
Response
Communications
Investigation
Cleanup & Clearance

5. The Program’s Beginning
One dedicated vehicle for “major” incident response
Coordination with other maintenance resources
In response mode
Worked with WSP & local fire to define role
Outreach to the public

6. Program Benefits Reduced Travel Delay Increased Public Safety
Quicker response and clearance
Increased Public Safety
Reduction in secondary accidents: 18% of fatalities on Interstates
Public Confidence in WSDOT
Providing a positive and visible service

7. Initial Results
Heightened awareness of the significance of incidents on highway performance
Better understanding of IR costs vs. more traditional methods of capacity improvements
Benefits realized from better coordination with WSP

8. Program Expansion Issues that had to be understood worked through:
Response criteria
Liability
Equipment needs/configuration
Response procedures
Responder training
Coordination with other responders

9. Program Growth 1990 – On person and one vehicle
Urban Seattle Area
1997 – 25 Vehicles, 12 on-call & 13 roving:
Major urban areas statewide and some rural coverage
Today – 44 Vehicles, 4 on-call & 40 roving:
All state roadways
State Patrol Motorist Assistance Program
Contract Tow Trucks

10. Program Performance 1995: Responded to 35 incidents a month
19% were less then 15 minutes in duration
53% were over 90 minutes in duration
2004: Responding to 4850 incidents a month
63% were less the 15 minutes in duration
1.6% were over 90 minutes in duration

11. Additional Information
Other Activities
IR Procedures Manual
Seattle Area IR Case Study
Program Evaluation
IR Training Program
Statewide standardized electronic data collection
Ongoing Performance Monitoring

12. Future Directions
GPS based wireless real-time data for better asset management
Enhanced performance evaluation criteria to better match program structure to actual needs
Real-time video link between & TMC for traveler info and operations