CRASH SCENE MANAGEMENT

A partnership between the

Oregon Department Of Transportation

and the

Oregon State Police

GOALS

1) Accurately and objectively gather evidence and information to complete a thorough investigation

2) Open highways in a safe and timely manner

ASSISTANCE TO THE MOTORING PUBLIC

A good working relationship between ODOT and OSP can facilitate this single goal by accomplishing

both of our missions:

OREGON LAW AND OSP POLICY

ORS 811.720 requires a report when “Any accident occurring on a highway…resulting in injury or death…”

Department of State Police Policy 601.2 states: “a crash investigation and a report will be required when….any police or governmental vehicle is involved…when an Oregon Traffic Crash Report is required under ORS 811.720”.

601.2 further states that “a scale diagram is required at all fatal motor vehicle crashes”.

Department of State Police Policy 502.14 (6) states: “Prevention of further crashes is one of the primary duties of the investigators”.

Traffic delays increase the probability of additional crashes by 600%.

ODOT MISSION STATEMENT

Annex E - Incident Management

I. PURPOSE

These procedures describe action the ODOT will take to respond to an incident on the state highway system. The procedures provide guidance and instructions for ODOT employees to enhance traffic safety and restore the movement of traffic.

ODOT MISSION STATEMENT

II MISSION

The ODOT incident response mission is to:

1. Ensure personal safety.

2. Ensure the safety of emergency responders and the travelling public

3. Take actions to:

•Ensure the highway is not blocked or restricted any longer than absolutely necessary.

•Provide information to motorists so they can make appropriate decisions...

•Protect the environment.

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

EOP - Chapter 5 (f) EMERGENCY DUTIES:

1. Conduct debris clearance…

2. Respond to incidents that occur on state highways

3. Conduct rescue operations as directed.

4. Assist I emergency traffic control as needed.

5. Conduct emergency signing of highways as directed.

SCENE STRATEGY

So, how do we, as reconstructionists and scene supervisors, accomplish our share of these goals?

Through scene strategy:

a common sense approach to gathering evidence quickly,

yet accurately!

SOME IDEAS TO CONSIDER

1) Do not conduct any investigation on-scene that can be successfully conducted elsewhere

a) crush profiling (unless it can be done with a station)

b) lamp examination (unless evidence is transitory)

c) safety equipment examinations

d) vehicle movement recreation

e) mechanical examinations

SOME IDEAS TO CONSIDER

2) Identify that portion of the highway/roadway which offers the least restriction to vehicular travel

a) should the restriction to traffic be a vehicle, take the appropriate actions to clear that vehicle as quickly as possible:

• make the request for EMS removal of victims,funeral homes and/or tow trucks

• identify the vehicle’s position, either by hand measurements, station shoot or photography. You will likely have that vehicle identified before the tow arrives.

MORE IDEAS TO CONSIDER

b) Should the restriction to traffic be evidence (tire marks, gouges, etc.), mark and measure that evidence first

c) These steps will allow ODOT flaggers to open the highway to at least one-way traffic

3) Continue this process, lane by lane, until the least restriction to traffic is offered

MORE IDEAS TO CONSIDER

COMMUNICATE!

If you formulate a plan to facilitate movement of traffic, communicate that to the flaggers or the ODOT scene

supervisor!

He/she can relay that to waiting motorists

He/she will in-turn radio that information to their dispatch center, who may then enter that into the internet data base,

making it available to the public.

MORE IDEAS TO CONSIDER

Identify the least restrictive location for the station setup or the tape baseline. This will allow you to continue collecting data while traffic is moving.

Identify the least restrictive time for mapping.

Attempt to identify the most efficient clearing of highway obstructions (cars).

1) Can tows be brought in from specific areas? Wrong way down the freeway?

2) Car vehicles be towed in a specific order?

SOME EXAMPLES(where)

MP199

SHOULDER

SHOULDER

NORTH

0 25 50 100 200 25010

SCALE

4

20 17A

17

16

10DOOR 9

13A

13

9

1514

6A

6

1212A

11

7

7A8

5

TAILGATE 9

TAILGATE 9 1819

SWEAT, W.

This highway is blocked. Where would you set the station? In what order would you remove vehicles?

MORE EXAMPLES

10.0

00

2

1 0 -1

3

.1

7

3

11-1

3

.3

9

7

1 2-1 3 .3 9 6

1 3-1 0 .8 4 3

1 4 -8 .2 5 6

1 5 -5 .1 8 9

1 6 -3 .2 7 8

1 70 .7 2 7

1 8 4 .5 0 6

1 9 7 .8 0 3

2 0 11 .6 8 5

2 1 1 6 .4 3 8

2 21

7

.3

7

2

2 31

8

.5

2

6

2 41

9

.2

3

6

2 5 11 .6 3 72 61 0 .8 9 2

2 7 9 .9 4 4

2 8 8 .5 6 0

2 9 6 .8 2 8

3 0 5 .5 7 5

3 1 4 .3 3 9

3 23 .6 7 5

3 3 2 .9 3 63 4 2 .6 1 9

3 5 -1 .0 8 0

3 6 -1 .4 9 9

3 7 -2 .2 8 1

3 8-2 .4 7 6

3 9-3 .0 4 0

4 0 -3 .7 1 3

4 1 -4 .2 7 9

4 2-5 .0 6 9

4 3-5 .7 6 6

4 4 -6 .7 0 5

4 5 -7 .7 8 4

4 6 -8 .5 1 6

4 7-9

.6

8

5

4 8-9

.4

6

1

4 9-8

.7

9

5

5 0-8

.5

6

2

5 1-6

.9

6

5

5 2-6

.4

4

8

5 3-6

.2

3

8

5 4 -6 .1 6 3

5 5 -5 .0 3 4

5 6 -3 .6 6 7

5 7 -2 .5 1 6

5 8-1 .1 8 9

5 9 -2 .4 0 06 0-2 .3 9 8

6 1 -3 .3 2 4

6 2 -4 .5 8 5

6 3 -5 .9 6 4

6 4 -7 .5 5 5

6 5-0 .8 7 4

6 6 0 .3 3 1

6 71 .3 4 7

6 8 3 .9 2 9

6 94

.0

9

5

7 02

.7

8

0

7 12

.0

1

7

7 25

.2

2

8

7 34

.8

3

4

7 45

.3

3

6

7 55

.7

3

7

7 6 5 .4 4 47 7 5 .2 6 7

7 8 4 .9 2 3

7 9 4 .5 1 2

8 02 .5 5 6

8 1 3 .0 9 1

8 23 .7 2 1

8 3 4 .2 5 5

8 4 4 .6 6 5

8 5 5 .1 5 68 6 5 .3 5 1

8 7 5 .0 4 3

8 84 .4 8 5

8 93 .8 5 0

9 0 3 .0 6 6

9 1 2 .6 1 2

9 2 2 .1 9 2

9 3 4 .9 9 5

9 4 5 .0 1 8

9 5 4 .9 3 5

9 6 4 .7 3 0

9 74 .4 6 9

9 811 .3 8 0

9 9 9 .6 5 0

1 0 07 .7 0 0

1 0 16 .0 7 7

1 0 25 .1 0 6

1 0 33 .6 0 1

1 0 40 .6 4 3

1 0 5-0 .3 3 8

1 0 6-3 .0 9 5

1 0 7-4 .7 7 3

1 0 8-5 .2 8 1

1 0 9-5 .9 2 8

11 0 -6 .5 4 5

111 -6 .0 5 4

11 2 -4 .6 0 7

11 3 -3 .2 5 0

11 4-1 .7 9 4

11 5 -0 .6 1 8

11 60 .3 7 9

11 7-5.5

57

Tip-over tire mark

Pavement edge

Fogline

Steel guardrail

Fogline

Damaged guardrail position

Original guardrail position

Scrape marks (unit #1A)

Gouge mark (unit #1A)

Tire mark (LF, unit #1)

Gouge mark (LF wheel, unit #1)

Unit #1

Unit #2

Slope = -5.4%

Super elevation = 11%

FATAL MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH09-09-00 5:50 PMHIGHWAY 26, MP 108.5, JEFFERSON CO.DRIVER #1: GILL, CHAMKAURDRIVER #2: TURNER, COLLEEN (DECEASED)CASE: 00392973

0 25' 100' 250'

Scale

Unit #1A

Load scattered

Where do you set up?

What do you document first?

WHEN?

x

Cimaron Motel(south)

Union 76gas Jiffy

Lube

Chans

Post Collision Situation MapN

Albertson(central)

(south)

SurplusStore

Cascade Lodge

0'25' 100' 200' 300'

400'

scale

P.Waters(flagger) (flagger) (flagger)

D. Goncescuffmarks

shoe

(two)

Victim NYE

with stop sign with stop sign with stop sign

J. Mcdonald(flagger)

legend

= construction overhead lights

= traffic control cones

Bend Cinema

E.Caldwell

rest.

and carwash

3rd St., Bend. 300’ short of 1 mile. When would you attempt this shoot?