se does not provide drivers with unambiguous messages. Clearly, the lights of multiple emergency vehicles belonging to various disciplines operating at a single incident are far more likely to mask the message they are attempting to convey, confuse and distract motorists, and endanger responders’ safety than to provide effective direction and order. The MUTCD aptly recommends
[p]ublic safety agencies should examine their policies on the use of emergency-vehicle lighting, especially after a traffic incident scene is secured, with the intent of reducing the use of this lighting as much as possible while not endangering those at the scene. Special consideration should be given to reducing or extinguishing forward-facing emergency-vehicle lighting, especially on divided roadways, to reduce distractions to oncoming road users.
Because the glare from floodlights or vehicle headlights can impair the nighttime vision of approaching road users, any floodlights or vehicle headlights that are not needed for illumination, or to provide notice to other road users of an incident response vehicle being in an unexpected location, should be turned off at night.31
8. Promote uniformity. To encourage greater cooperation and coordination aimed at resolving incidents more effectively, efficiently, and safely, disciplines need to communicate with each other in understandable ways. Radio codes and other esoteric terms are counterproductive and generate confusion when the NUG’s prompt, reliable, interoperable communications principle is being advocated. Like the TRAA Vehicle Identification Guide described earlier, lane designation terminology, developed by the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition and the TIM Network in 2010, provides a means for all disciplines to describe uniformly and more precisely incident scenes.32 Moreover, the long-sought-after allocation of the D-Block spectrum to public safety, along with $7 billion in funding to build out a nationwide, interoperable, public safety wireless broadband network; a workable governance structure; and preservation of the 700 MHz narrowband mission-critical voice spectrum became a reality in February 2012 when Congress passed—and the president signed—legislation making public safety’s longtime need a reality.33 Finally, cloud computing has the potential of increasing responders’ effectiveness and ultimately reducing costs by sharing in a timely fashion crucial data among the various disciplines at major traffic incidents.34
9. Try new approaches. There may be better ways to resolve traffic crashes or incidents than the way it always has been done. Florida’s Rapid Incident Scene Clearance (RISC) program is but one innovation “to reduce delays associated with the clearance of major incidents.” The RISC program was initiated in 2004 and essentially establishes a 90-minute window for clearing a crash or incident from a limited-access highway, the achievement of which results in the payment to the tow company of the standard $2,500 incentive. Twenty-one tow companies with specialized equipment and personnel expertise currently participate in this program that primarily deals with large vehicles. Basically, a selected tow company must acknowledge a request within 15 minutes, must arrive at the incident scene with all required equipment within 60 minutes of notification, and must clear the scene in 90 minutes. During fiscal year 2011, the RISC program was activated on 89 occasions; the 90-minute clearance time was accomplished 89 percent of the time with an average of 59.3 minutes to reopen all traffic lanes and with a total payment of $221,200.35
The Arizona Highway Patrol’s Operation Safe Commute is another innovative program. On the Phoenix metro area freeway system, where 90 percent of metropolitan Phoenix’s crashes occur, patrol officers are stationed on one-mile stretches during peak traffic hours to ensure the freeway remains clear. “Circular patrols and stationary observation of traffic in positions that do not influence traffic flow facilitate this strategy. Quick, safe responses 