PHOENIX – It’s only been a year since its inception, but ADOT’s Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm has proved its worth in helping decrease crashes, aid drivers and improve traffic flow on Valley freeways.

Since hitting the road in October 2019, the 14-member unit, part of ADOT’s Traffic Systems Management and Operations Division, has responded to more than 10,400 crashes, disabled vehicles, debris or other incidents in the Phoenix metro area.

Driver feedback on the program has been overwhelmingly positive with feedback using the words “outstanding,” “a blessing,” “above and beyond” and “fantastic” to describe the service.

“Your IRU unit at l-10 west about 91st Ave was a great help. I had a blow out during rush hour during the rain,” one motorist wrote. “I have nothing but praise for this person and this program.”

About 250 motor vehicle collisions occur each day on metro Phoenix freeways, most of them requiring a response from law enforcement, fire departments, transportation crews or tow trucks. The Incident Response Unit also responds to provide a variety of support, ranging from setting up traffic control to moving vehicles involved in minor crashes. In addition, units may be called upon to assist stranded motorists.

State Farm began sponsoring the Incident Response Unit in February, similar to other safety patrols it sponsors in 19 other states. The sponsorship supports highway safety and helps ensure drivers get home safely.

“Our support of the Arizona DOT Incident Response Unit program embodies our ‘good neighbor’ philosophy,” said Matthew Coleman, State Farm Marketing Director. “It also underscores the continued commitment State Farm has to auto safety, while helping people recover from the unexpected, which is the heart of the State Farm mission.”

By improving traffic flow after crashes, the unit reduces the potential for secondary crashes, which often are more destructive than the initial crashes, while helping motorists get where they need to be. This work helps free Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers to concentrate on investigations and respond to other situations on Phoenix-area freeways.

Mark Brown, the Traffic Incident Management and IRU program administrator, said in the past incidents on the freeway were handled by maintenance workers. These crews would have to stop their work, return to a yard to pick up vehicles and equipment and then respond to the crash scene.

By having a dedicated, mobile team, response times have been cut to a matter of minutes, rather than the sometimes hour-plus it used to be. That means crews can move fast to prevent potential crashes.

“We’re able to quickly respond to help drivers or remove debris,” Brown said. “We’re able to keep traffic moving, which is important to reduce the chance of a secondary crash.”

The Incident Response Unit patrols Phoenix-area freeways from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, ready to assist state troopers and the public.

PHOENIX – Three months after launching, the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Incident Response Unit has offered assistance nearly 4,000 times on Valley freeways, helping boost safety by getting traffic moving sooner after crashes. 

In a first for ADOT, a new sponsorship by State Farm is helping the 14-member Incident Response Unit continue this important work, which ranges from setting up traffic control to moving vehicles involved in minor crashes to removing debris – even changing a flat tire here and there.

By improving traffic flow after crashes, the Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm reduces the potential for secondary crashes, which often are more destructive than the initial crashes, while helping motorists get where they need to be. This work helps free Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers to concentrate on investigations and respond to other situations on Phoenix-area freeways. 

"Protecting public safety is our state's number one responsibility, and ADOT's Incident Response Unit is doing just that," said Governor Doug Ducey. "This innovative sponsorship between State Farm and ADOT will improve highway safety while saving taxpayer dollars, which means more money to build and maintain our transportation infrastructure."

In the coming weeks, Valley drivers will see ADOT Incident Response Unit vehicles wrapped with State Farm branding as part of this sponsorship.

“Our support of the Arizona Department of Transportation Incident Response Unit program embodies our ‘good neighbor’ philosophy,” said Matthew Coleman, State Farm marketing director. “It also underscores the continued commitment State Farm has to auto safety, while helping people recover from the unexpected, which is the heart of the State Farm mission.”

“State Farm is making Arizona a better and safer place by helping ensure that everyone gets safely home,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “This sponsorship is a real win-win for everyone, including motorists and Arizona taxpayers.”

About 250 motor vehicle collisions occur each day in Maricopa County, most of them requiring a response from law enforcement, fire departments, transportation crews or tow trucks.

“Our troopers feel the difference on Valley freeways, thanks to the Incident Response Unit,” said Lt. Col. Jenna Mitchell with the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol Division. “When troopers are able to focus on their primary role at incident scenes, it allows them to better serve the public.

“The partnership between the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Department of Transportation is critical to traffic incident management,” Mitchell added. “The Incident Response Unit provides traffic control and assistance to motorists, allowing troopers to focus on investigating collisions and traffic enforcement, such as distracted and impaired driving, and makes Arizona safer.”

The Incident Response Unit sponsored by State Farm patrols Phoenix-area freeways from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, ready to assist state troopers and the public. In addition to providing support at crash scenes, units may be called upon to assist stranded motorists. In December alone, they responded to more than 1,400 incidents.

“Every minute counts after a crash,” said Alberto Gutier, director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “When a crash is minor, getting vehicles off the highway and restoring traffic flow quickly improves safety for all.”

State Farm sponsors similar patrol units in 20 other states, helping departments of transportation use limited transportation funding for other priorities.

“Safety is our top priority,” said Karla Petty, administrator for the Federal Highway Administration Arizona Division Office. “An alliance of so many safety-minded groups is another step in the right direction to keeping Arizona drivers safe.”

PHOENIX – To enhance safety and minimize disruption of traffic after crashes on Valley freeways, the Arizona Department of Transportation has established an Incident Response Unit to work alongside state troopers and other first responders.

Fourteen units, which are part of ADOT’s Traffic Systems Management and Operations Division (TSMO), patrol freeways to be ready to respond quickly to incidents. Drivers can expect to see them helping with traffic control after crashes, removing debris from freeways and doing minor maintenance.

It’s another way ADOT is using the Arizona Management System championed by Governor Doug Ducey to improve processes and increase value to the traveling public, in this case with a goal of reducing crashes that often occur in traffic backups while supporting traffic flow on Valley freeways.

“Secondary crashes are often worse than the initial incident,” said Brent Cain, director of the Transportation Systems Management and Operations Division. “By having units ready to respond and quickly clearing minor crashes off the road or setting up proper traffic control, it’s going to improve safety for motorists and first responders.

Because the units are mobile and already on the road, ADOT’s incident response times will be reduced. Previously, maintenance crews had to stop their work and return to maintenance yards to pick up vehicles and equipment before responding to crashes. These new units are equipped with message boards and traffic cones needed at crash scenes and closures.

A faster response means traffic control will be set up sooner, freeing Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers to concentrate on crash investigations. Incident Response Unit crews also can safely move minor collisions off the roadway.

Drivers can expect to see ADOT units on Phoenix area freeways weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Crews will be on call overnights and weekends.

PHOENIX – If you have the misfortune to be involved in a non-injury fender bender on a freeway, do not leave your car stopped in travel lanes, while you circle the vehicle taking photos of dents and dings from dozens of angles and waiting for a forensics team to arrive and piece together the cause of the collision.

That’s not safe and they’re not coming.

If you find yourself in this situation move your vehicle to the shoulder where you can safely exchange information with the other driver, inspect your vehicle for damage and wait for law enforcement to arrive. This is called “Quick Clearance” and is a traffic incident management strategy that keeps motorists safe and traffic moving.

During National Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Awareness Week (Nov. 11-17), the Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Public Safety and other traffic-safety stakeholders are providing the traveling public with TIM tips. In addition, motorists will see TIM-related safety messages on overhead signs and on social media this week.

“Not only do TIM techniques keep traffic moving as efficiently and smoothly as possible,” said Derek Arnson, ADOT’s Traffic Management Group manager, “they make it safer for those involved in the incident, safer for those responding to the incident and safer for the motorists traveling near the incident.”

Nearly 350 vehicle crashes occur every day in Arizona and most will be visited by emergency responders, which can include law enforcement, fire departments, medical services, transportation crews and tow trucks.  Different responders have different duties on scene – some tend to victims and others gather information about the incident, while others remove damaged vehicles and clear space to make travel safer for other motorists – but all are practicing TIM techniques.

“TIM strategies are used by first responders on a daily basis to keep motorists safe on Arizona’s roadways, while reducing traffic congestion that often causes secondary collisions,” said Lt. Col. Wayde Webb of the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol Division.

While responders employ a variety of TIM strategies that keep motorists safe and traffic moving efficiently, the public plays a role, too. First, motorists can practice “Quick Clearance,” a state law that requires a driver involved in a minor crash without injuries to remove their vehicle from the roadway if it is operable and can be moved safely. In addition to moving vehicles from the roadway to increase safety, Arizona’s “Move Over” law requires motorists to move over one lane – or slow down if it’s not safe to change lanes – when approaching any vehicle with flashing lights pulled to the side of a road or highway.

Giving responders space to work can be a life-saving action, said Angela Barnett, Executive Director of the Arizona Professional Towing and Recovery Association. On average, one tow truck operator is struck and killed every six days in the United States, according to national crash statistics.

“Give us room to do our jobs,” Barnett said. “When you see an incident or flashing lights ahead, please pay attention and slow down. It’s real life out there and we all want to go home at the end of the day.”

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. Never leave the scene of a crash.

PHOENIX – A new website will help make traffic incident response more efficient and vehicle travel safer for motorists in Arizona.

Created by the Arizona Department of Transportation and Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Arizona Traffic Incident Management website – tim.az.gov – debuts this week with the goal of being the go-to resource for Arizona TIM responder training.

“Effective Traffic Incident Management keeps the public safe, emergency responders safe and traffic moving,” said Derek Arnson, ADOT’s Traffic Management Group manager. “It’s important that everyone who responds to a traffic incident, from law enforcement to tow truck operators, are working together and following the same practices.”

Traffic Incident Management (TIM) is the coordinated practices, responsibilities and cooperation of emergency responders, which includes law enforcement, fire departments, medical services, transportation crews and tow truck operators, at traffic incidents. These coordinated efforts help keep crash victims and emergency responders safe, while restoring traffic flow.

A primary focus in building the website was to create a central location for all of Arizona’s incident responders to sign up for and receive TIM training.

While the website is geared toward emergency responders, tips for the public can be found there, too, including videos and infographics related to Arizona’s “Move Over” law, “Quick Clearance” and work-zone safety.