Quick Clearance
Quick clearance policies generally focus on the timely and prudent clearance of incidents involving commercial vehicles. These policies are tempered by such considerations as the potential for hazards associated with the load and the availability of appropriate towing and recovery equipment and personnel.
Incidents involving larger vehicles carrying a wide variety of freight types have the potential for closing roadways for extended periods of time. Many transportation and law enforcement officials are reluctant to take aggressive action by pushing or dragging heavy damaged vehicles and cargoes off the road for fear of liability. Experience has shown, however, that agencies that take aggressive actions do not incur increased liability, especially if aggressive clearance in the name of public safety is a stated policy and if the clearance is done in a manner that is not reckless or negligent.
About half of the states have laws that require drivers involved in minor property damage crashes (no injuries) to moves their vehicles, if they can be driven, to a safe location out of traffic lanes. These laws, generally called "Move It", or "Steer It, Clear It" laws, are very helpful not only in quickly opening traffic lanes, but also increasing the safety of motorists who are often tempted to get out of their vehicles to talk to each other, inspect damage and exchange insurance information.
Quick clearance policies can also include immediate tow-away policies, especially in proximity to metropolitan areas, to ensure the timely removal of disabled vehicles from roadway shoulders. This reduces the potential for moving traffic colliding with parked vehicles. While removal of the vehicles is typically at the expense of the owners, increasingly many of these vehicles are derelicts, abandoned by their owners. Once towed, these abandoned vehicles can become a financial burden to tow companies who have to store, and then scrap them. Working with the towing and recovery companies on development of traffic incident management policies helps mitigate these financial impacts.
NCHRP Synthesis 318 - Safe and Quick Clearance of Traffic Incidents (PDF, 8.6MB)
This report is based on a survey of traffic incident clearance policies, procedures, laws and ordinances from all 50 states and also contains information on "hold harmless" laws and policies and laws regarding the removal of incident victims from a crash site. The synthesis covers not only the clearance of major incidents, including the removal of tractor-trailers and the handling of fuel spills, but also the quick clearance of minor crashes typically covered by "Move It" or "Steer It, Clear It" laws.
I-95 Corridor Coalition - Quick Clearance and "Move It" Best Practices (DOC, 18.2MB)
The I-95 Corridor Coalition's Coordinated Incident Management program track undertook a study of quick clearance policies and procedures among its member states or organizations. The report covers both the clearance of major incidents as well as the quick clearance of minor crashes and stalled vehicles. This study builds on NCHRP Synthesis 318 "Safe and Quick Clearance of Track Incidents" with more data from I-95 Corridor Coalition states.
You will need the Adobe
Acrobat Reader to view the PDFs on this page.
To view DOC files, you need the Microsoft Word Viewer.
