SAFETY SERVICE PATROL PRIORITIES AND BEST PRACTICES
April 2017

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Contact Information: Operations Feedback at OperationsFeedback@dot.gov

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

FHWA-HOP-16-047

April 2017

Source, Cover: Photo courtesy of the Maryland State Highway Administration

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-HOP-16-047		2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Safety Service Patrol Priorities and Best Practices			5. Report Date April 2017
			6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) Alvin Marquess, Purvi Desai, Glenn Havinoviski, Cliff Heise			8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Iteris, Inc. 11781 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Suite 625 Fairfax, VA 22033 Subconsultants: Jacobs Engineering, Gannett Fleming, Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association			10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
			11. Contract or Grant No. Contract No. DTFH61-12-D-00037 Task Order No. 5010
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590			13. Type of Report and Period Covered Informational Guide Book July 2015 - April 2017
			14. Sponsoring Agency Code FHWA HOP
15. Supplementary Notes Jimmy Chu, FHWA GTM
16. Abstract Safety service patrols on freeway and arterial roadways provide a traffic management tool for transportation agencies across the country. A swift response to incidents provides effective temporary traffic control and quick clearance practices and reduces the chance of secondary accidents and bottlenecks. As more agencies assess their needs for traffic management and the benefits of service patrols, there are many best practices they can use in their decision-making processes for new or existing program enhancements. This report identifies existing service patrol programs for lessons learned, best practices employed, and those priorities that agencies should consider.
17. Key Words safety service patrol, freeway service patrol, service patrol, incident, accident, traffic incident management, safety		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 112	22. Price

Form DOT F1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized

Table of Contents

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
  • BACKGROUND
  • SERVICE PATROLS: A KEY TO EFFECTIVE TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
  • EXAMPLES OF WHY SOME AGENCIES IMPLEMENTED SERVICE PATROLS
  • SERVICE PATROL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
  • BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING OR ENHANCING AN EXISTING SERVICE PATROL PROGRAM
• CHAPTER 2 TYPES OF SERVICE PATROL PROGRAMS
  • STAFFING OPTIONS FOR SERVICE PATROLS
  • LEVEL OF SERVICE
• CHAPTER 3 SERVICE PATROL OPERATIONS
  • CONSIDERATIONS
  • OUTFITTING A SERVICE PATROL
  • SERVICE PATROL INTEGRATION
• CHAPTER 4 FUTURE INFLUENCES
  • PROGRAM EVOLUTION
  • TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION AND CONNECTED VEHICLES
• CHAPTER 5 PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT OR EXISTING PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT
  • SELECTING THE RIGHT SERVICE PATROL PROGRAM
• CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS
  • BEST PRACTICES
  • LESSONS LEARNED
  • SUMMARY
• APPENDIX A: REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
• APPENDIX B: HOLD HARMLESS LIABILITY LEGISLATION EXAMPLE
• APPENDIX C: TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT INTER-AGENCY MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING EXAMPLES
• APPENDIX D: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• APPENDIX E: BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF FIGURES

• Figure 1. Formula. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Incident Factor Formula.
• Figure 2. Graph. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 2005-2007 Incident Factor Statistics Map.
• Figure 3. Graph. Nevada Department of Transportation Incident Mitigation Example.
• Figure 4. Photo. North Carolina's Incident Management Assistance Patrol Vehicles.
• Figure 5. Photo. Examples of Washington State Department of Transportation's Vehicle Types.
• Figure 6. Photo. Regional Emergency Action Coordinating Team Regular Response Vehicle.
• Figure 7. Photo. Regional Emergency Action Coordinating Team Incident Command Vehicle.
• Figure 8. Photo. Example of Rear Conspicuity Striping.

LIST OF TABLES

• Table 1. Florida Service Patrol Assists (2000-2013).
• Table 2. Examples of Patrol Staffing Options.
• Table 3. Program Examples with Baseline Service Patrol Components.
• Table 4. Program Examples with Mid-Level Service Patrol Components.
• Table 5. Program Examples with Full Function Service Patrol Components.
• Table 6. Example Service Patrol Operation Hours.
• Table 7. Nevada Department of Transportation Mitigations per Vehicle per Hour.
• Table 8. Examples of Vehicle Equipment.
• Table 9. Types of Safety Service Patrol Vehicle Equipment.
• Table 10. 2008 Accidents by County (in Maryland) and Time of Week.