Traffic incidents are a major source of congestion. Traffic
incident management (TIM) consists of “a planned and coordinated
multi-disciplinary process to detect, respond to, and clear
traffic incidents so that traffic flow may be restored as safely
and quickly as possible. Effective TIM reduces the duration and
impacts of traffic incidents and improves the safety of
motorists, crash victims, and emergency responders.” (FHWA
Traffic Incident Management Website ) The National Traffic
Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC) has adopted the National
Unified Goal (NUG) for TIM to “achieve enhanced responder
safety; safe, quick traffic incident clearance; and more prompt,
reliable, interoperable communications.” About half of
congestion is caused by temporary disruptions that take away
part of the roadway from use, or "non-recurring" congestion. The
three main causes of non-recurring congestion are: incidents
ranging from a flat tire to an overturned hazardous material
truck (25 percent of congestion), work zones (1