6.6 Traffic Incident Management and Directed Traffic Control

TIM: Safe, Quick Clearance

BPOC Chapter 22 objective 22.36 requires cadets to complete the National Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Responder Training Program, the FHWA-sponsored course used across agencies. Its governing philosophy is safe, quick clearance: protect responders and motorists, clear the roadway as fast as safety allows, and prevent secondary crashes (the collisions that occur in the queue behind an incident).

BPOC defines an incident for traffic-management purposes as a nonrecurring event that reduces roadway capacity or creates abnormal demand and requires law-enforcement response—crashes, disabled vehicles, spilled cargo, highway maintenance. Planned special events (games, concerts, parades, funerals) likewise affect capacity and need management.

The Lane-Management Balance

The central rule resists intuition: more closed lanes feels safer but lengthens queues and breeds secondary crashes. TIM asks for the minimum closure that protects the work area—widened only when injuries, fire, debris, or poor visibility justify it, then narrowed again as hazards clear.

Positioning, Lighting, and Hand Signals

Officer position must be highly visible and protected. If agency policy allows, the patrol vehicle can funnel traffic or serve as a barrier. Vehicle placement should preserve officer access, account for blind spots like hill crests and curves, and let equipment be unloaded efficiently.

Lighting is a tested detail. BPOC warns that too many flashing lights can actually impair drivers—especially fatigued, impaired, or older drivers—and that drivers tend to steer toward what they look at (target fixation). Directional arrows must agree with cone tapers, flares, and other emergency vehicles; conflicting signals create danger and confusion. When using a flashlight, use the beam to gain attention or indicate direction—never aim it directly into a driver's eyes.

Directed Traffic Control Tools

• Hand signals — clear, exaggerated, one command at a time (stop, proceed, turn).
• Illuminated baton at night for visible direction.
• Cone/flare taper — advance warning that channels traffic gradually, not abruptly.
• Voice commands — consistent with the hand signal.

Worked Scenario

A disabled tractor-trailer blocks the right lane near a hill crest at dusk. A strong answer: request additional resources and towing; place the patrol unit and a long cone taper for advance warning before the crest; avoid standing in the blind spot below the crest; coordinate the arrow direction with the taper; consider alternate routing; and speed clearance without sacrificing responder safety.

Traps: (1) maximizing closure because "more space feels safer"; (2) shining a light into a driver's eyes; (3) running conflicting arrows from multiple officers. Final cue: traffic direction is communication—vehicle arrows, cone tapers, hand signals, baton, position, and voice must all point to one path.

Secondary Crashes, Tapers, and Multi-Officer Coordination

The reason TIM exists is the secondary crash—a collision in the queue or at the back of the slowdown caused by the original incident. Research cited in TIM training shows that secondary crashes rise with the duration of the incident and the length of the queue, which is why "safe, quick clearance" treats time as a safety variable, not just a convenience. Every extra minute a lane stays closed lengthens the queue and raises the odds of a rear-end crash behind the scene.

Building a Proper Taper

A taper is the gradual channelizing of traffic from a closed lane into an open one using cones or flares. A taper that is too short forces an abrupt, dangerous merge; a taper placed after a hill crest or curve gives drivers no warning. The principles: start the advance warning well upstream of the hazard, account for higher speeds with longer tapers, and keep the taper visible before any blind spot.

Coordinating Multiple Officers

When more than one officer directs traffic, consistency is survival. Two officers giving conflicting arrows, or a vehicle arrow board pointing opposite the cone taper, sends drivers into the work area. Officers agree in advance which lane is open, who controls which approach, and what the hand signals mean, then hold to that plan until it is deliberately changed and communicated.

The Reassessment Habit

TIM is not set-and-forget. As EMS clears patients, fire knocks down a fire, or towing removes wreckage, the hazard footprint shrinks—and the officer should reopen lanes and shorten the closure accordingly. The exam-winning judgment is dynamic: open the minimum, expand only for genuine hazard, and contract again the moment the hazard clears. Protection and movement are not opposites; the skilled officer maximizes both by matching closure to the live hazard and keeping every signal pointing one way.