Next-Generation TIM: Integrating Technology, Data, and Training

Posted on April 19, 2021September 7, 2023

What is Next-Generation TIM: Integrating Technology, Data, and Training?

New methods for improving Traffic Incident Management (TIM) programs aim to increase traveler and responder safety and improve trip reliability and commerce movement on all roadways.

Over 6 million reportable crashes occur every year in the United States. Each crash places responders and motorists at risk of secondary crashes while having a severe impact on congestion. New tools, data, and training mechanisms can be used to improve safety and reduce clearance times at roadway crashes. New and existing TIM programs, including those for local agencies and off-interstate applications, will benefit from using enhanced TIM practices on all roadways to save lives, time, and money.

A New Generation of TIM

While the FHWA's national TIM responder training program successfully trained almost 500,000 responders to clear incidents collaboratively, safely, and quickly, it was largely focused on agencies that respond on interstates and high-speed roadways. Next-generation (NextGen) TIM increases the focus on local agency TIM programs while integrating new and emerging technology, tools, and training to improve incident detection and reduce safety response and clearance times on all roadways.

Traditionally, transportation agencies capture incidents (crashes, roadway debris, stalled vehicles on mainlines, etc.) where sensor technologies are installed, where safety service patrols are present, or when contacted by public safety/law enforcement agencies. NextGen TIM significantly expands this capacity. It enables agencies to improve TIM strategies by implementing new options such as back-of-queue warning, navigation-app notification of active responders in the vicinity, notification-based incident detection using crowdsourced data, and more.

By using NextGen TIM methods, State and local agencies can increase traveler and responder safety, improve trip reliability and commerce movement, and enable responder communities to focus more resources on other pressing citizen needs.

Benefits

Increased Safety. NextGen TIM targets advances in safety through engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency services to help keep responders, drivers, and pedestrians safe across freeway, arterial, and multimodal travel.

Improved Travel Times. Training, data, and technology combine to help local and State agencies reduce secondary crashes and clearance times, improving trip reliability and increasing motorists' awareness of active responders along their travel routes.

Improved Operations. Integrating new and emerging technology, tools, and training can improve incident mitigation and safety throughout the whole TIM timeline, from incident detection to clearance on all roadways.

Learn more about this EDC-6 Innovation.

How NJ Incorporates NextGen Traffic Incident Management (TIM)

Stage of Innovation:
DEVELOPMENT
(December 2022)

Research. NJDOT is coordinating with State Police to determine communications that will be shared with Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) integration. NJDOT is also working to establish radio channels to enable coordinated DOT and law enforcement communications at incident sites.

Training. NJDOT is actively working towards achieving participation by all local agencies in the NJDOT established statewide TIM training course.

Building Support. DVRPC area-generated incident management task forces can serve as models for creation of similar diverse stakeholder task forces in other regions. NJDOT is also looking to build partnerships with media to facilitate TIM communications.

What’s Next?

For the EDC-6 initiative, the NJDOT initially wanted to focus on CAD integration as one of the major activities in support of the TIM strategic plan. As a result of NJ State Police's decision to change their CAD technology, the NJDOT is revising their approach for EDC-6 NextGen TIM.

NJDOT is continuing to coordinate with the NJIT ITS Resource Center to deploy HAAS Alert technology on NJDOT's Safety Service Patrol vehicles. The responder-to-vehicle alert application will deliver incident alerts to the motorists (i.e. phone apps) for their situational awareness when approaching a stopped SSP vehicle assisting stranded motorists to assist in reducing speed and collision.

The NJSP statewide CAD system (Motorola FLEX) is currently being re-evaluated. The NJDOT will continue to maintain the existing working group/team comprising staff from the Mobility Operations, Mobility Planning/Research, and NJIT ITS Resource Center to provide coordination and strategic planning for the CAD integration project.

Next-Generation TIM: Integrating Technology, Data, and Training: NEW & NOTEWORTHY

NJDOT Traffic Incident Management Training Course – Now Available Online as Self-Guided Course

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e-Ticketing

Posted on April 12, 2021January 27, 2023

Implementing e-Ticketing, and the related practice of using digital as-builts, into project delivery enhances safety, quality, and cost savings by improving the accessibility of project data.

Highway construction projects produce massive amounts of valuable data. Historically, information such as materials tickets and as-built plans were communicated via paper. Today's transportation agencies are improving on these paper processes by integrating them into electronic and digital workflows. Electronic ticketing (e-Ticketing) improves the tracking, exchange, and archiving of materials tickets. Digital information, such as 3D design models and other metadata, can enhance the value of contract documents and the future usability of the as-built plans for operations, maintenance, and asset management. Both can increase project safety and quality through efficient data gathering and sharing.

What is e-Ticketing?

Providing all stakeholders with an electronic means to produce, transmit, and share materials data and track and verify materials deliveries enhances safety, streamlines inspections, and improves contract administration processing. Using electronic ticket (e-Ticket) exchanges enables access via mobile devices and simplifies handling and integration of material data into construction management systems for acceptance, payment, and source documentation.

Benefits

Safety. e-Ticketing enhances data collection while reducing exposure to adjacent vehicular traffic and construction equipment for inspectors and work crews while retrieving paper tickets.

Time Savings. Real-time access, via electronic handling of tickets, reduces processing time for quality assurance and payment, decreasing the inherent delays in paper-based project administration.

Quality. Project documentation is more consistent and efficient using e-Ticketing platforms. Standardized data enables archiving for future reference, leading to improved design, construction, maintenance, and operations.

Learn more about this EDC-6 Innovation.

How NJ Incorporates e-Ticketing

Stage of Innovation:
DEVELOPMENT
(December 2022)

New Jersey has taken several steps to advance its use of e-Ticketing and to encourage its partners to adopt its use.

Research. NJDOT has collected and reviewed information, guidance, research, and best practices on the implementation and use of e-Ticketing techniques.

Training. NJDOT has participated in e-Ticketing trainings, peer exchanges, and workshops.

Building Support. NJDOT is working with internal and external partners, stakeholders, and vendors to advance the use of e-Ticketing. The agency has also identified individuals for an implementation team.

What’s Next?

A NJDOT e-Ticketing working group was formed that will work to advance this innovation by pursuing tasks including seeking guidance from other state DOTs on their e-Ticketing related interactions with vendors and procedures and policies. The working group is at the stage in the process where a "Project Intake Process" and "Project Risk and Complexity Assessment Tool" is being developed. The team in place includes a designated individual assigned as the lead following completion of a procurement process.

The working group is coordinating with the DOT for preparation and submission of Logical SAR (System Architecture Review) documents which are required to select an e-ticketing Vendor and the necessary software.

e-Ticketing: NEW & NOTEWORTHY

Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations

Posted on January 1, 2021January 27, 2023

What is Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations?

Crowdsourcing is focused on employing the collective experience of a number of people to manage a process. Crowdsourced data can be obtained whenever and wherever people travel, allowing agencies to capture in real time what happens between sensors, in rural regions, along arterials, and beyond jurisdictional boundaries. Agencies at all levels can use crowdsourced data integrated from multiple streams to optimize roadway use for reduced congestion and increased safety and reliability.

State and local transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) programs strive to optimize the use of existing roadway facilities through traveler information, incident management, road weather management, arterial management, and other strategies targeting the causes of congestion. TSMO programs require real-time, high-quality, and wide-ranging roadway information. However, gaps in geographic coverage, lags in information timeliness, and life-cycle costs for field equipment can limit agencies' ability to operate the system proactively.

Benefits

Public agencies at all levels are increasing both their situational awareness and the quality and quantity of operations data using crowdsourcing, which enables staff to apply proactive strategies cost effectively and make better decisions that lead to safer and more reliable travel while protecting privacy and security of individual user data.

Learn more about this EDC-6 Innovation.

How NJ Incorporates Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations

Stage of Innovation: INSTITUTIONALIZED
(December 2022)

The NJDOT is institutionalized in its use of vehicle probe data to support traffic incident/operations management and planning for operations. New Jersey has been a leader in using crowdsourcing data to advance operations since 2008. The following activities occurred in under previous EDC rounds:

Acquired Two Probe Data Sets. Crowdsourcing data from INRIX and HERE (via TRANSCOM partnership) is used for real-time performance management and traffic monitoring for roadway management and event after actions.

Incorporated Crowdsourcing Data Sets. TRANSCOM tools such as Data Fusion Engine (DFE) and Selected Priorities Applied to Evaluate Links (SPATEL) aggregate all available data sources for operations, analysis, and performance measures.

Piloted a Connected Vehicle Program. The pilot study funded through a STIC Incentive Grant seeks to protect safety service patrol staff by alerting drivers in real-time of their presence at an incident site through apps such as Waze and Google.

What's Next?

NJDOT formed a collaboration with Drivewyze, an information service provider able to provide connected truck services including a real-time truck alert system to improve safety and reduce commercial vehicle crashes.

The real-time trucking alert system was deployed in January 2022 to improve safety and reduce commercial vehicle crashes. The alert system helps truck drivers to react more quickly before encountering stopped traffic and major slowdowns within the corridor including taking alternate routes to relieve congestion bottlenecks during major incidents. NJDOT will continue to assess the performance of the alert system on how well the truck drivers are receiving advance warning of the traffic incident.

NJDOT, along with its private sector providers, have made presentations and highlighted lessons and benefits of the initiative in webinars and with the NJ STIC.

In November 2022, representatives from NJDOT and FHWA-NJ participated in the EDC-6 Crowdsource Capstone Peer Exchange in North Carolina. States DOT participants included Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. Each State DOT representative shared their crowdsource journey, challenges, best practices, and future plans. Common issues included the need for workforce planning, training on data analysis, data scientists, and help with review of new data sources, big data, forecasting, and trying to make associations, patterns, and trends that have nexus to the operations program.

Click for the Crowdsourcing for Operations Fact Sheet.

CROWDSOURCING FOR ADVANCING OPERATIONS: NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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NJDOT’s Commercial Vehicle Alerts Initiative Featured in National Operations for Excellence Webinar

The National Operations Center for Excellence held a webinar featuring New Jersey and Colorado DOT initiatives to establish private sector partnerships that use crowdsourced data ...

National Operations Center Webinar to Feature NJDOT’s Commercial Vehicle Alerts Initiative

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The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is seeking to understand the region’s pedestrian infrastructure through the development of an online inventory, map, and platform ...

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How SJTPO Refined Their Congestion Management Process with Crowdsourced Data

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Tech Talk! Webinar: Crowdsourcing for Local Operations

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Virtual Public Involvement (VPI)

Posted on January 1, 2021March 15, 2023

What is Virtual Public Involvement (VPI)?

Innovative virtual public involvement techniques provide State departments of transportation (DOTs), transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and rural transportation planning organizations (RTPOs) with a platform to inform the public and receive feedback. These strategies increase the number and variety of channels available to agencies for remotely disseminating information to the public and create efficiencies in how input is collected and considered, which can potentially accelerate planning and project development processes.

Encouraging Public Engagement

Public involvement is a critical component in the transportation decision-making process, allowing for meaningful consideration and input from interested individuals. As daily users of the transportation system, the public has useful opinions, insights, and observations to share with their State DOT and local agencies on the performance and needs of the transportation system or on specific projects. Early and strong public engagement has the potential to accelerate project delivery by helping identify and address public concerns early in the planning process, thereby reducing delays from previously unknown interests late in the project delivery process.

Nearly all State DOTs and most local agencies use websites to post information about their activities. With the increased use of social media tools and mobile applications, the public can access user-friendly features such as online videos, podcasts, crowdsourced maps, and other interactive forums to receive information and provide input.

Benefits

Efficiency and Low Cost. Virtual tools and platforms can be made accessible to communities efficiently, many at a lower cost than traditional public engagement methods.

Accelerated Project Delivery. Robust public engagement helps identify issues early in the project planning process, which reduces the need to revisit decisions.

Communication and Collaboration. Virtual public involvement can aid in establishing a common vision for transportation and ensure the opinions and needs of the public are understood and considered during transportation planning and project development.

Expanded Engagement. Virtual tools can facilitate inclusion of stakeholders who do not participate in traditional approaches to public involvement. Greater and more diverse engagement can improve project quality.

Learn more about this EDC-6 Innovation.

Virtual Public Involvement in NJ

Stage of Innovation:
INSTITUTIONALIZED
(March 2023)

Collaboration. NJDOT has collaborated with the state's three MPOs to integrate VPI practices in all stages of capital project implementation, from concept development to construction.

Local Agency Advancement. New Jersey's counties and municipalities are using lessons learned from state efforts to increase their engagement with local stakeholders.

Expanding Reach. Transportation partners throughout the state have utilized VPI practices in a wide variety of projects, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This work has provided robust demonstration of expanded attendance to VPI online events. However, concerns still exist about documentation of virtual feedback versus that gained through in-person communications, as well as the issue of equity in reaching, and gaining insight, from a wide variety of participants including underserved and disadvantaged populations.

What's Next?

NJDOT and its partners are seeking to increase public engagement of various stakeholder groups. The Department plans to include VPI in its updated Public Involvement Action Plan. The agency understands that input through VPI is as important, and considered equal to, in-person input. VPI can enhance and increase access to many populations, particularly those who are underserved, but the need exists to strike a balance of in-person and virtual engagement.

Virtual Public Involvement (VPI): NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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