Incident Management

Once an incident is detected and confirmed, the response and clearance must be managed so as to preserve and protect human life, maintain a reasonable level of safety for all participants, fulfil legislative requirements, minimize delay to the travelling public and minimize damage to public/private property. In a major incident, these are complex and often competing factors. Successful incident management can be facilitated by hi-tech equipment but is largely dependent on inter-agency co-ordination, education and on-site personnel.

The Traffic Operations Centre is the focal point for the MTO's freeway management activities within the area it controls. Not only is all the information from the COMPASS System transmitted to this point, but this is the same centre that receives all road condition, construction and maintenance activity reports. Due to the abundance of information available, the operations centre can often play a major co-ordinating role in incident management situations.

Private towing vehicles have free access to the highway and generally provide prompt but not necessarily an inexpensive service. The Ontario Provincial Police have jurisdiction over provincial freeways and are actively involved in incident management. Some cruisers are equipped with push-bumpers and lighted arrow-boards to clear and protect accident sites. Police personnel are key players in a large portion of the incidents and their response time is critical. Early detection of problems through the COMPASS system allows for easier and more efficient co-ordination of response activities.