November 2017

THE TIM TREND

National TIM Week Edition

Rekindling Cost Recovery

Fall is back – it’s all pumpkins, football and hunting seasons, corn mazes, apple cider and fallen leaves for many in Oregon. For others winter preparation and response is already in full swing. Now is the time to break out the wool shirts, grease the boots and ensure that our “go-bags” have a winter hat, extra gloves, rain gear and shoe chains. Vehicle preparation is also of paramount concern—confirming that our batteries, tires and tire chains are ready for yet another season of service to our communities.Nobody questions the necessity of such preparations, and we wish our TIM team members well as each of you goes through your annual routine. Today we’d like to pose a question of a different variety; does your pre-winter preparation include preparing for cost recovery? Each year in Oregon millions of dollars’ worth of crash damage occurs to roadway features: damaged guardrail, broken signs, crash attenuators, concrete barriers and bridge components are many of the most common roadway features incurring damage. ODOT has a robust cost recovery program known to many as

our Charge Against Others program. From calendar year 2013 through year-to-date 2017, the CAO program has brought in more than $16 million to repair the damage done to state highway features. That $16 million does not come from regional budgets, which keeps our “local budgets” whole to go towards planned maintenance and improvements. Cost recovery is accountability. It holds those responsible for the damage accountable for the repair costs. Importantly, the ability to effectively recover costs hinges squarely on our ability to effectively identify the responsible party.

This photo shows the contents of an ODOT Damage Tag Kit. TIM response partners from law enforcement, fire and towing can reach

out to their local ODOT contact to obtain these tags. ODOT staff may acquire the kits by contacting the ODOT storeroom.

Damage tags in place on roadway safety features

Damage tags in place on roadway safety features

Close up view of a completed damage tag

This photo shows the contents of an ODOT Damage Tag Kit, which are available through your local ODOT contact. ODOT staff may acquire the kits by contacting the ODOT storeroom. ODOT is not on-scene at every incident that causes roadway damage, and most often we rely on our law enforcement, tow or fire partners for responsible party information. The exchange of that information doesn’t always happen. In 2012, Oregon’s TIM program implemented the Damage Tag Program to provide a tool to our response partners so that they can easily supply responsible party information, even when ODOT is not on-scene. Each kit contains several durable, bright orange tags which can be attached to the damaged roadway feature via peel and stick or by using the enclosed zip-tie connectors. Each tag has space for the responding agency to enter their contact information, date of event and case number, which can be done with an enclosed permanent marker. With the damage tags completed and securely attached to the damaged roadway feature, ODOT representatives know exactly who to contact to obtain the responsible party information and begin the process of cost recovery in the most efficient manner possible. Now is the time to ensure that all TIM partner agencies in your area are equipped to advance cost recovery.

Tell ing Our TIM StoryRogue Valley Regional TIM Team: Embedding TIM Into Their Community

“TIM is a coordinated, multi-disciplinary…..” Most of you likely recognize the beginning words of the official definition of TIM. Those first few words create a sense of accord and oneness in spirit that we here at Oregon’s TIM program seek to promote through our newsletter…a sense of community.Recently Jackson County Fire District #5 hosted a community open house in the city of Talent. The Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Department of Forestry and Talent Police Department participated as members of the community enjoyed the beautiful fall evening, good company and grilled hot dogs.Participation in these types of events is vital for budding TIM programs as it fosters a sense of “us.” Community members and fellow response agencies get an up-close look at the equipment purchased with their tax dollars, which is often the same equipment that works for them and their families year round. More importantly, community events provide the opportunity for the entire neighborhood to look into the eyes of and shake hands with the dedicated men and women who look out for them, particularly in the months ahead as we move toward winter. These types of galvanizing events are worth celebrating, and worth duplicating.

2017 Annual TIM Conference & Executive WorkshopInvesting in our TIM response teams at all levels

As responders, we are all too aware that every minute spent clearing a crash scene on our roadways increases the likelihood of one of us getting hit and killed or seriously injured by passing cars. Data tells us that our impromptu work zones are on the rise. In 2016, ODOT Transportation Operations Centers logged 26,898 crashes on our highways—almost 73 crashes a day, up from roughly 45 a day in 2015. Each crash represents a Traffic Incident Management Team working together to clear a scene, with responders risking their lives to keep our roadways safe and clear.

With rising crash counts and more distracted drivers sharing our roads than ever before, Oregon’s TIM Program continues to look for ways to serve first responders and strengthen TIM teams across the state. Most recently, many responders came together for Oregon’s annual Statewide TIM Conference to share lessons learned, discuss new strategies and tools and celebrate the achievements of TIM trainers:

• Billy Bush, OSP reviewed early findings from the Robotic Total Measuring Systems pilot. • Industry representative Garrett Anstine shared the latest in emergency vehicle lighting technology, promoting light shedding practices.• The annual performance measures review demonstrated how response agencies can use TIM data to further inform decisions on staffing, patrol routes and staff scheduling. In addition to providing national TIM training, we leverage digital

platforms and tools to promote the importance of TIM and grow our statewide TIM team. Help us by liking our page and sharing with responders you know!

Oregon’s Statewide TIM Conference has long stood as an important touchpoint for collectively taking stock of TIM challenges, successes and strategies, and this year’s event included an important twist: in the morning, executive leadership from Oregon and around the country came together for our state’s first ever TIM Executive Workshop.

Leaders from Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and Tennessee joined Oregon TIM leadership to discuss what it takes to collaboratively build a statewide TIM culture, from institutionalizing best practices to developing regional TIM teams to engaging the public on important transportation safety practices. ODOT’s TIM Program walked away with both ideas and tangible practices to implement in the future. Oregon’s TIM leadership walked away with renewed commitment to collaborating with partner agencies to protect TIM responders.

Just how important was this milestone? Darin Weaver, ODOT’s TIM Program Manager explains, “It is through collective action that we innovate the ways we engage and support our first responder communities at all levels, from executive leaders to the boots on the ground. It takes everyone—every leader and responder from every discipline to create the kind of change that saves lives. This workshop is the beginning of something special for our TIM Program, and the results will shape the future of TIM in Oregon for years to come.”

Executive leadership from Oregon and around the country came together for our state’s first ever TIM Executive Workshop.

Roseburg, OR TIM Responder Training event

Oregon incident Scene, photo taken by Oregon TIM trainer with Dallas Fire Department.

ODOT and OSP demonstrate unified command while working an incident.

Members of our statewide TIM team pause during a joint training for a photo opportunity.

The Spirit of National TIM WeekMost of our readers know that this week, November 13 through 19 is National TIM Awareness Week: a week set aside to raise awareness about the complexity of TIM activities, to enhance our understanding of the dangers that our cross-disciplined TIM teams face every time they step onto an incident scene and most importantly, a week to draw attention to what each of us can do as individuals to help maximize the safety of every TIM responder and road user. Oregon’s TIM program is foremost about people; the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles who willingly risk their lives as they respond to roadway incidents and facilitate safe travel for Oregon’s road users. It is about economic viability and the overall livability of our communities. In short, our TIM program is about the safety of everyone who works on or uses our roads - my family and yours. To celebrate national TIM week please join us as we tip our hats to the men and women who represent Oregon’s TIM responder community. We come from different backgrounds, with diverse training and unique skill sets, and we bring professionalism, pride, passion and unity - we are many disciplines, with one mission – Safe, Quick Clearance.

Oregon TIM Responder Training

Connect

Oregon held our first TIM Responder Train the Trainer event in late November 2013. We immediately began delivering the training to our TIM responder community across the state, with the first classes scheduled the very next week. Since then, Oregon’s TIM champions have brought the valuable messages contained in the National TIM Responder training program to the doorstep of responders in Brookings, Bend, Pendleton, Enterprise, Portland, Ontario and hundreds of locations in between. We have taught on Saturdays, in evenings, bright and early and multiple times during a single day – we are exceedingly proud of the efforts of our TIM trainers and program champions who continue to lead the charge. We are very close to reaching a special milestone for Oregon’s TIM responder training program: 5,000 responders trained. Will we reach our goal by the end of 2017? Help do your part by attending one of our scheduled TIM classes or request a training event of your own.Help do your part by attending one of our scheduled TIM classes or request a training event of your own.

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