Increasing EMS Safety with Traffic Incident Management (TIM)
With more than 1.5 million roadway crashes occurring per year, TIM is imperative to increase the safety of patients and EMS clinicians alike. Raising awareness of on-scene safety for traffic incident response is an important objective of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS).
How does TIM increase the safety of EMS clinicians?
There is a need for a concerted effort to improve responder safety. To support this project, the NHTSA Office of EMS (OEMS) will continue to collaborate with the Federal Highway Administration to communicate the importance of safe roadway practices and their impact on citizens and EMS clinicians nationwide.
The EMS community is encouraged to participate in TIM training to learn these vital skills and continue to do their part to increase safety when responding to crashes. TIM training equips clinicians with safe behaviors to safely and quickly clear traffic incidents, mitigating the chances of severe injuries or death. With EMS systems and partners working together to effectively and safely respond to crashes, it increases the survivability of all involved and helps prevent secondary crashes.
What TIM training and education options are available?
TIM certification is available through the Federal Highway Safety Administration (FHWA), including free online and in-person training options. More than half a million emergency responders have completed TIM certification and this figure is growing. With TIM education and training, EMS systems across the nation are better prepared to safely respond to roadway crashes and decrease the number of fatalities and injuries of patients, themselves and fellow responders.
Online TIM Training Course: Register for the National Highway Institute’s online course provided by FHWA, covering basic-level traffic incident response (4.1 hours).
National TIM Training Certificate: Earn a TIM Training Certificate by completing a series of self-paced, online courses through the Responder Safety Learning Network (10 hours).
National TIM Train-the-Trainer Course: Become certified to conduct TIM training in your state through in-person education that covers eight courses (11 hours).
State In-Person Training: Contact a state TIM training representative to learn about the options for in-person training opportunities.