SACRAMENTO – As part of their commitment to increased roadway safety, California transportation entities recently completed their 500th Traffic Incident Management (TIM) responder training session, which includes instruction on the best practices for detecting, verifying, responding to, and clearing traffic incidents safely and efficiently.

Since January 2014, these sessions have trained 13,000 first responders in California, the most in the United States.

TIM training, which is offered by the Federal Highway Administration at no cost, is designed to train law enforcement, fire/rescue, emergency medical services, transportation, public works, towing, and dispatcher personnel.

Graduates have applied these skills in the field with considerable benefit for both the responders and the general public.

“Caltrans’ highest priority is safety, both for our workers and the traveling public,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “This responder training is a key step toward protecting both of them when an incident occurs on the highway.”

Almost 40 percent of TIM participants are from the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

“Tragically, the CHP lost one of its own officers last month as he worked to make the roadway safer for travelers,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “TIM remains an important part of training for all who are responsible for making our roadways safer.”

An average of one traffic injury occurs every three minutes in California, or 184,000 annually. In addition to travel delays and increased greenhouse gas emissions, these incidents come with an additional deadly price: In California, 26 responders have been struck and killed while dealing with incidents since 2010.

All responder disciplines have been fatally impacted, including fire/rescue, California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, emergency medical technicians and towing personnel.