Session 8C: What's New in Traffic Incident Management?

Session Description: What’s New in Traffic Incident Management?

Moderator: Todd A. Leiss, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

Speaker Bios:

Mary Farrell is president of Information Logistics, a technology company located in New Jersey. She has been involved in technology for more years than she is willing to admit. From her first job doing research work at Bell Laboratories to her current company, Mary has worked with systems design and software development for a variety of industries. Her company’s innovative ideas and the technologies that her team has developed have won many local and international awards. She is here today with her son, John, who’s education and background is in public safety. John is currently completing his Ph.D., and brings the safety perspective to each project that the company develops.

Troy Truax is a senior associate, specializing in land use and transportation planning, emergency and incident management, and business continuity/continuity of operations planning. Troy is a certified planner with over 20 years of professional experience in both the private and public sectors that includes serving as Fulton County, Pennsylvania’s director of planning, emergency management and 911. Troy is currently involved with supporting the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s strategic planning, long-range planning, continuity of operations planning, and transportation incident management (TIM) programs. Through these efforts, the Turnpike has prepared a number of incident and emergency management operating procedures including an Emergency Transportation Operations Plan, a Continuity of Operations Plan, and a standardized After Action Review process to strategically analyze incidents occurring on the Turnpike’s highway system.

Dave Wolfe, through his careers in transportation operations and volunteer emergency services, has developed a specialized skill set in traffic management center (TMC) operations, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and traffic incident management (TIM). During his career with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Dave garnered extensive experience in TMC and traffic operations, and served as the DOT liaison to regional TIM Task Forces in the Philadelphia region. Currently, Dave works as a regional traffic incident management coordinator, supporting TIM initiatives in the eastern and central regions of the state for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Dave also works on multiple projects supporting TMC operations for PennDOT Districts 5 and 6, and the New York State Department of Transportation Hudson Valley TMC. As a former co-chair of the I-95 Corridor Coalition Delaware Valley Highway Operations Groups (HOGs), Dave worked closely with emergency managers and incident responders throughout the Philadelphia and South Jersey regions to create incident response plans and policies based on best practices.

A volunteer firefighter since 1996, Dave is a frequent speaker to first responders from all disciplines on the topic of traffic incident management and is designated as a trainer for the Federal Highway Administration’s Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2).

 
 

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The Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute is Penn State’s transportation research center. Since its founding in 1968, the Larson Institute has maintained a threefold mission of research, education, and service. The Institute brings together top faculty, world-class facilities and enterprising students from across the University in partnership with public and private stakeholders to address critical transportation-related problems.

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