With the sunsetting of TSAG, the Roadmap for Advancing TSAG Recommendations was developed in July 2021 to document TSAG findings and recommendations to ITS JPO to support their commitment to identifying and advancing technologies that enhance the safety of public safety responders and the traveling public. The Roadmap for Advancing TSAG Recommendations documents recommendations and provides direction for advancing TSAG’s priorities. It includes a summary of recent TSAG whitepapers and specific activities and deliverables needed to support and advance their recommendations, including identifying potential lead agencies, priority, and proposed timeframe. Also available here is the TSAG Annual Public Safety Research Assessment and Knowledge Transfer Report, which summarized recent research and publications related to improving the safety of responders and the TSAG projects outlined in the roadmap document.
Traffic or transportation management centers (TMCs) are the heart of operations for most transportation agencies. They monitor and evaluate conditions on the transportation system through cameras, detectors, and other instrumentation, and they operate the system through traffic control and information distribution. TMCs often provide communication and dispatching functions for maintenance and service patrols to clear debris, respond to stranded vehicles, or support traffic incident management (TIM). Public safety answering points (PSAPs) are the communication centers for public safety response agencies, receiving 911 calls, dispatching responders and resources, and monitoring incident communications. TMCs and PSAPs provide communications, data, resources, and situational awareness functions for incidents; however, there is minimal coordination and integration of these centers in ways that can enhance and support incident response most effectively. They each use communication and data systems. TMCs generally run advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) and PSAPs run computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, and the two systems are rarely integrated to share data and enhance agency efficiency and response effectiveness.
This project looked at various levels of integration, interviewed several agencies engaged in in TMC-PSAP integration, and provided recommendations on how to support TMC-PSAP integration. The final products are linked below.
Connected vehicles (CV) and automated vehicles (AV) present a number of potential challenges and opportunities to emergency response and public safety. There is a need to educate local transportation and public safety agencies on the operations of CV/AV, and to support interactions between public safety emergency responders, transportation agencies, and vehicle manufacturers to identify potential response risks and opportunities of automation. Connected vehicle technology focuses on increasing safety through interoperable wireless communication between vehicles, with the infrastructure, and with other devices. A great deal of research has been and is being done on CV/AV technology and applications with a focus on the vehicle, the user, and the system. Less has been done on the implications of CV/AV on public safety emergency response and responders in the current and future CV/AV environment.
This project included a survey of TSAG communities of interest organizations, a literature review of research to date, and recommendations on additional needs related to the interface between CV and AV and public safety responders. The following provide links to the products from this project.
Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) captures crash data from vehicle collisions in real time and sends the information to emergency responders, alerting responders of the location and nature of the crash so they can respond more quickly with the appropriate equipment. AACN can improve patient outcomes and save lives through rapid communication and vehicle location to decrease response time by emergency responders; predict injury severity in vehicle crashes; and quickly identify, diagnose, transport, and treat injuries. AACN can improve real-time patient information through automated sharing of vehicle crash data and offers predictive analysis based on vehicle data.
This project looked at the benefits, opportunities, and challenges associated with implementing AACN and recommended actions to advance the acceptance and deployment of AACN. It developed the following products.
Infrastructure to responder (I2R) applications include responder-centric and vehicle-based infrastructure to responder applications to improve responder safety and situational awareness on the scene of highway incidents, en route to the scene, and en route to a medical receiving facility. The specific focus of I2R sits at the intersection between infrastructure to everything (I2X), vehicle to everything (V2X), and responder-centric devices. The increasing availability of data, analytics, and connectivity can enhance the safety and situational awareness of responders to highway incidents. I2R uses information available through the emerging digital infrastructure, technology, and applications to push warnings and information to responders through handheld or worn devices and to response vehicles at, or en route to, the scene. I2R includes device-to-device and digital infrastructure to device applications. The digital infrastructure provides a connection that includes the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Cities/Communities applications, and geospatial and off-system data that provide a foundation for scene-critical information for the operations and safety of responders.
This project looked at the opportunities and challenges associated with I2R and the digital infrastructure, developed two use cases and recommendations for advancing I2R applications. The following products were developed from this project.
TSAG examined the history of FirstNet, Next Generation 9-1-1, and connected vehicles to provide an overall picture of where these technologies are today and what the near future holds.
This project developed a comprehensive Connected Responder business case to educate, engage, and inspire crucial Community of Interest (COI) groups to leverage the full potential of Connected Vehicle (CV) technologies. This business case was the product of extensive operational research, technology assessments, subject-matter expert engagements, and collaboration with the Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG). The business case and related project deliverables focused on educating the responder community at all levels and fostering a collaborative Connected Responder Community of Interest to work together to reduce barriers to diffusion and increase the innovative application of Connected Vehicle technology.
Connected Responder Benefits Fact Sheets:
Final Report
Presentations: