Using Data to Help Save Lives

Traffic incidents on highways present serious risks to those involved, as well as to the first responders on scene. According to the Federal Highway Administration, for each minute that the incident continues to be a hazard, the likelihood of a secondary crash increases by 2.8%.

The Bay Area Incident Management Task Force (IMTF) is focused on the safe, quick clearance of incidents. The IMTF works to reduce fatal and serious injuries, as well as traffic congestion associated with crashes.

The IMTF is a collaboration between MTC, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and others.

The IMTF shares data with the public through MTC’s Bay Area Traffic Incident Management Dashboard.  Features of the dashboard include:

• Recent incident statistics, compared to the previous month or quarter
• A map of incidents in the past week, month and quarter 
• Statistics about incident clearance time
• Incident trends 
• A chart of incident severity (minor accidents, intermediate accidents and major incidents)
• Freeway Service Patrol data
• Semi-truck incidents
• Wrong-way incidents
• And more

This dashboard has been used by agencies to improve incident management planning and operations. Groups have been able to tailor training, technology, operations and data needs based on the incident insights provided.

Safety on roadways is a top priority for MTC, and that’s why MTC is leading the Bay Area Vision Zero Working Group. The working group includes members from local government, transit agencies, advocates and academia and strives to make the region’s streets safer for everyone, especially pedestrians and bicyclists.