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Published on Wednesday, January 29, 2003
in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel
The state Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation have a new goal that drivers are going to like. The agencies want to clear accident scenes and reopen roads within 90 minutes.
The mandate to their staffs says that roads "will not be closed or restricted any longer than is absolutely necessary" and that vehicles and debris will be removed as quickly as possible.
A lot of improvements and some changes need to be made to reach that goal, said FHP Capt. John Roberts, the district commander in Broward County. He estimated that simple fender benders are taking 90 minutes to clear.
To get anywhere close to clearing major accidents in that amount of time, troopers are going to have to work closely with firefighter/paramedics who arrive at nearly every accident with several large trucks. Tuesday, Roberts invited members of the fire-rescue departments that respond to wrecks on the interstates to a meeting. Six of 12 departments sent representatives.
There was some disagreement over who should be in charge at a scene, a fire chief or an FHP supervisor, but there was agreement that everyone is going to have to work together.
"The Highway Patrol is just as guilty as anybody else in terms of how we do what we do," Roberts said. "We need to get away from the old way of thinking where we can close the highway for four or five hours while we write our reports, wait for tow trucks and so on." Dania Beach Fire-Rescue Capt. Bruce Caruso said there is no way emergency workers will be able to clear accidents involving multiple vehicles, multiple injuries, hazardous material spills or death in 90 minutes, but he said making swiftness a goal is a good idea.
The longer emergency vehicles are parked on the road, the more likely it is that secondary accidents will occur, he said.
Firefighters park their fire engines in lanes of traffic as a way to protect themselves while they work, Caruso said, but they would be willing to move the vehicles if something else could be brought into place.
According to the new "Open Roads" policy signed in November, that responsibility falls to the Department of Transportation during major incidents. It is supposed to set up cones, barricades and vehicles to make accident scenes as safe as construction areas.
Florida and Washington are the only states in the country that have written a policy stating that clearing the roads is a priority, according to Ted Smith of PB Farradyne Inc., a company hired by the state to study traffic flow.
The 90-minute goal is lofty, he said, but it's the best way to get results.
"They set a benchmark," Smith said.