Assessment of Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio HERO Incident Management Programs
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) aimed at improving safety and keeping traffic flowing, the Highway Emergency Response Operator (HERO) program was established to clear minor crashes from roadways and assist motorists in need. Following the public's positive response, more districts have instituted HERO programs in recent years. Although HERO has proven popular, the program has not been formally assessed. The objective of this project is to conduct a systematic assessment of HERO in Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio. The research team will perform comprehensive analyses in terms of operational efficiency, staffing and equipment levels, incident response and clearance time improvements, impacts on travel delay, and benefit to cost ratio through a series of on-site interviews, data analysis, and Dynamic Traffic Assignment micro-simulations. The research team will compare clearance times on Safety Service Patrol (SSP) routes vs. non-SSP routes, and contract service vs. non-contract service. Recommendations and guidance shall be provided to TxDOT’s districts and Traffic Safety Division to improve HERO effectiveness and efficiency. This project will give TxDOT a thorough understanding of HERO as well as future improvement recommendations.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $393183
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Contract Numbers:
0-7137
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Sponsor Organizations:
Texas Department of Transportation
125 E. 11th Street
Austin, TX United States 78701-2483 -
Managing Organizations:
Texas Department of Transportation
125 E. 11th Street
Austin, TX United States 78701-2483 -
Project Managers:
Kasberg, Katelyn
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Performing Organizations:
Center for Transportation Research
3925 W. Braker Lane
Austin, TX United States 78759 -
Principal Investigators:
Han, Zhe
- Start Date: 20220901
- Expected Completion Date: 20240831
- Actual Completion Date: 0
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Dynamic traffic assignment; Emergency response time; Emergency road service; Evaluation and assessment; Microsimulation
- Geographic Terms: Texas
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01863316
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Texas Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: 0-7137
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Nov 3 2022 12:19PM