PHOENIX – New realities mean finding new ways to train emergency responders.

A year ago, during National Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Week, hundreds of emergency responders gathered at locations across Arizona to take a TIM training course and learn how to keep themselves and motorists safe when responding to roadway incidents.

In 2020, TIM Week is different.

Instead of holding in-person courses at locations around Arizona, TIM stakeholders have been working for months to develop a virtual course. In October, the Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Mesa Fire Department, Maricopa County Department of Transportation and the Arizona Professional Towing and Recovery Association staged and filmed video demonstrations of TIM techniques at the City of Mesa Public Safety Training Facility. These videos will be used in the virtual TIM training.

“Just like we use different TIM strategies to approach the variety of incidents we encounter on roadways, we’re adapting our outreach and education efforts in the current public health situation to deliver essential training,” said DPS Capt. John Paul Cartier, a nationally-recognized TIM advocate. “We’re excited about the virtual training program, which will have live instruction, and the possibility to use this platform moving forward and engage even more responders in TIM practices.”

TIM is important because it keeps the men and women who respond to crashes, those involved, and other motorists safe. That’s right, drivers can practice TIM tips, too!

A common one is “Quick Clearance.” If a driver is involved in a minor crash without injuries, state law requires them to move their vehicle from the roadway if it is operable and can be moved safely. Drivers and passengers involved in the non-injury collision can inspect their vehicles and exchange insurance information from an off-highway location instead of dangerous travel lanes as cars whizz past.

Some drivers have been taught to not move their vehicles until law enforcement arrives, but that is not correct. In fact, state law requires drivers to move operable vehicles out of travel lanes if there are no injuries.

Professionals responding to the incident, like law enforcement and tow truck operators, can do their jobs from the safety of an off-highway location or the shoulder, instead of travel lanes. With travel lanes open, the chance for a secondary collision involving other motorists is reduced.

“One of our primary goals is to make incident scenes safe for responders and the traveling public,” said Mark Brown, ADOT’s Traffic Incident Management and Incident Response Unit program administrator. “By moving your car out of travel lanes, you’re not only making it safer for those around you, but you’re putting yourself in a much safer environment.”

Remember, if you are involved in a crash, the first action to take is to make sure you and occupants in your vehicle are OK. Then, if your vehicle is operable, move to the emergency shoulder, median or exit the highway and call 911. Stay out of travel lanes, be alert and watch approaching traffic.

Across the state this week, motorists will see a TIM-themed safety message on overhead message boards that reminds drivers of “Quick Clearance.”

PHOENIX – The days of Commercial Driver License (CDL) customers only being able to go to a handful of MVD offices for those services are over.

The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division now offers most CDL services at all full-time MVD locations statewide. Previously, CDL customers were required to travel to a limited number of MVD locations.

“As part of our continuous improvement efforts under the Arizona Management System, we’re training all MVD Customer Service Representatives to perform commercial license transactions,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser Richards.

She added, “That means someone who needs to get a CDL or most other commercial driver service doesn’t have to go to a special CDL office anymore; they can be served at any full-time MVD office. The only exception is commercial driver road tests, which are available at many, but not all, MVD locations.”

The expansion of CDL into more MVD locations is in addition to the existing CDL system. The existing CDL offices, some of which are separate from MVD locations, will continue to operate. This change means staff at all existing CDL offices now serve as examiners who are able to provide a larger number of skills tests by appointment. 

“MVD is always looking for ways to improve customer service,” Bowser Richards added. “Adding literally hundreds of employees who can serve commercial customers will speed up those transactions and make all of MVD more efficient.”

PHOENIX – A new technique that basically slides precast bridges into place has greatly reduced delays for the Bellemont community with an Arizona Department of Transportation project replacing spans over Interstate 40 at Transwestern Road west of Flagstaff.

Using this technique, which the contractor proposed, allowed crews to replace the bridges during a nine-day closure of Transwestern Road over I-40 rather than having the six to eight months of restrictions required for a traditional bridge replacement project.

Joining ADOT engineers in a process called value engineering, which analyzes plans looking for ways to improve quality and value while reducing time needed to complete improvements, the contractor proposed casting the new bridges whole to the east of the existing bridges and then moving them into place in a process that works much like sliding components into place. ADOT approved the plan.

Once the new bridges were complete, crews diverted I-40 traffic to the on- and off-ramps in order to demolish the old bridges. Workers then used hydraulic jacks to lift and move the new Bellemont/Transwestern Road bridges into place. That part of the process took about four-and-a-half days.

ADOT regularly looks for accelerated bridge construction methods and other innovations that can reduce delays and inconvenience for drivers. Earlier this year, for example, the agency used a process known as a geosynthetic reinforced soil-integrated bridge system to rebuild the bridges on I-40 at Meteor City Road, creating abutments by putting in alternating layers of granular fill reinforced with synthetic material. That process also cut construction time by months.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has added to the ways drivers see the posted speed limit on a stretch of State Route 347 in the southeast Valley.

The speed limit is now displayed on the highway pavement in large white decals as part of an effort to improve safety along SR 347 between Interstate 10 and Riggs Road.

Testing the speed limit pavement decals is a first for ADOT’s Phoenix-area highways. Standard speed limit signs also are in place adjacent to where the decals have been added.

Traffic engineers recommended the pavement decals for SR 347 in areas where the speed limit drops as drivers approach intersections. Decals now help show the northbound speed limit transitions from 65 mph to 55 mph approaching the Maricopa Road intersection and from 55 mph to 45 mph as drivers approach the I-10/Queen Creek Road interchange.

The pavement decals also are in place along southbound SR 347 approaching the Riggs Road intersection, where the speed limit drops from 65 mph to 55 mph.

ADOT’s review of law enforcement crash reports found that officers cited “speed too fast for conditions” as a driver violation in more than half of crashes along SR 347 between I-10 and Riggs Road.

Speed limit pavement decals also are being tested at one location along SR 160 in northeastern Arizona.

PHOENIX – Recent improvements to the Arizona Department of Transportation website mean Motor Vehicle Division customers now have more information about wait times, office operating hours, service changes and other important items available to them online.

Technological advances introduced earlier this month at azdot.gov include changes to the Motor Vehicle Division Hours and Locations page.

Customers who visit this page will see each office listed alphabetically by city or town. Each office has a display listing the location’s normal operating hours, the current estimated wait time, the number of people currently waiting, information about the latest times to arrive for services such as road tests and vehicle inspections, scheduled service changes and other information as needed.

“This is a more complete and customer-friendly way to showcase the status of each office in real time,” said MVD Stakeholder Relations Manager Jennifer Bowser Richards. “Using the principles of the Arizona Management System, we’re always striving to make it as convenient as possible for our customers to do business at our offices. These website changes, which are fully optimized for smart devices, help us accomplish our vision to get Arizona out of line and safely on the road.”

For more information: azdot.gov/mvd.

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and manage traffic through the bridge improvement project along Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Gorge, the Arizona Department of Transportation is using a first-of-its-kind alert system to help reduce emergency braking and collisions.

With I-15 reduced to one lane in each direction during construction, traffic begins to queue during peak travel times and holidays. A queue warning system that includes portable message boards informs drivers of stop-and-go traffic ahead using equipment that detects traffic in real-time. 

With advance notice, drivers can anticipate heavy traffic, slow down and avoid erratic behavior, helping reduce collisions in the queue.

While this is the first time the system has been used on an ADOT project, going forward the agency intends to use it on projects creating similar traffic conditions.

The $6.4 million bridge improvement project is resurfacing the decks of Bridge No. 2 and Bridge No. 5 in I-15, while Bridge No. 4 is receiving a new deck. 

The project is scheduled to wrap up next spring.

For more information, please visit azdot.gov/projects and click on the North Central District.