The safe, efficient, and effective management of incidents and emergencies requires a wide range of activities, programs, resources, tools, and systems to be developed and implemented prior to the event. To help foster enhanced preparedness and response during incidents and emergencies, the USDOT has developed the following documents:

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Simplified Guide to the Incident Command System (ICS) for Transportation Professionals – This February 2006 guide introduces ICS to those who must provide specific expertise, aid, or resources during highway incidents, but who may be unfamiliar with ICS organization and operations principles used by first responders and emergency managers. The target audience includes transportation professionals, companies involved in towing and recovery, and elected officials and government agency managers at all levels.

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Common Issues in Emergency Transportation Operations Preparedness and Response: Results of the FHWA Workshop Series – This February 2007 report consolidates common issues of the transportation community, emergency managers, first responders, and public information officers with respect to Coordination and Communication; Emergency Operations; Equipment; ITS; Mutual Aid; Threat Awareness and Information Sharing; and Policy. Common issues were identified through a series of 30 FHWA-sponsored workshops that were conducted across the country between 2002 and 2005.

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Best Practices in Emergency Transportation Operations Preparedness and Response: Results of the FHWA Workshop Series – This December 2006 report presents best practices and lessons learned from the participants who took part in the 30 FHWA-sponsored workshops that were conducted across the country between 2002 and 2005.

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Traffic Signal Preemption for Emergency Vehicles – A Cross-Cutting Study – This January 2006 report identifies issues associated with emergency vehicle operations and emergency vehicle preemption. This study reports information gathered during a review of publications and site visits to three jurisdictions operating emergency vehicle preemption systems.