PUBLIC SUBMISSION | As of: February 14, 2009 Tracking No. 8068d344 Comments Due: July 31, 2008 Late comments are accepted |
Docket: FHWA-2007-28977
National Standards for Traffic Control Devices; The Manual and Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways; Revision
Comment On: FHWA-2007-28977-0001
National Standards for Traffic Control Devices; the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways; Revision
Document: FHWA-2007-28977-1475
North Central Texas Council of Governments - Comments
P.O. Box 5888
Arlington,
TX,
76005
On behalf of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metropolitan Area, the North Central
Texas Council of Governments is requesting a change to the Federal Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The DFW region organized a MUTCD
Subcommittee made up of local transportation professionals and emergency
responders in the region to review Chapter 6H - Control of Traffic Through Traffic
Incident Management Areas (previously Chapter 6I). Based on the discussions
that occurred at the meetings, the Subcommittee recommends that the incident
class duration be changed. The current incident class durations for Chapter 6H
are as follows:
A. Major – expected duration of more than two hours;
B. Intermediate – expected duration of 30 minutes to two hours; and
C. Minor – expected duration under 30 minutes.
The Subcommittee feels that these classifications do not allow sufficient time to
deploy the required equipment specified in the 2003 Edition of the Federal MUTCD
and requests the following changes to the incident class durations:
A. Major – expected duration of more than four hours;
B. Intermediate – expected duration of 60 minutes to four hours; and
C. Minor – expected duration under 60 minutes.
In review of the incident class durations, the MUTCD Subcommittee considered
the amount of time it would take to deploy the equipment specified in the 2003
Edition of the Federal MUTCD and the number of incidents within our region that
fall within each incident class. The Subcommittee also expressed concerns
regarding the amount of equipment that incident responders would be required to
carry in their vehicles to meet the traffic control recommended in the 2003 Edition
of the Federal MUTCD. The Subcommittee recommends the following changes to
lines 48 - 50 of the Standard section in Section 6H.01:
Responders arriving at a traffic incident should estimate the magnitude of the traffic
incident, the expected time duration of the traffic incident, and the expected
vehicle queue length, and then should initiate procedures to have the appropriate
temporary traffic controls set up for these estimates.
The deletion of “within 15 minutes of arrival on-scene” is recommended, as the
initial responders may be unable to estimate the overall magnitude of the incident
in this time period. Their initial activities may be focused on evaluating the degree
of danger to the public, checking for injuries and initiating or requesting medical
aid, and securing the immediate incident area. The need for an estimate of the
magnitude of the incident is recognized, but 15 minutes is likely insufficient in
many cases.
It is also recognized that most early responders to incidents do not carry the
amount and type of traffic control devices needed for the incidents. Such devices
are likely delivered by others summoned to the scene by the early responders.
Therefore, the Subcommittee recommends that this guidance be modified to
recognize that early responders will likely not be the ones deploying the traffic
control devices but will instead be requesting support from others to do so.
However, nothing in the proposed revision would prohibit or discourage the early
responders from deploying the needed traffic controls if they have the devices
available.
The Subcommittee’s recommended changes to Chapter 6H were submitted to the
Texas Department of Transportation during the development of the recently
adopted 2006 Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The
Subcommittee’s recommendations were incorporated into that manual. A copy of
Chapter 6I from that Texas MUTCD is attached for your reference.
| FHWA-2007-28977-1475.1 | North Central Texas Council of Governments - Comments |
| FHWA-2007-28977-1475.2 | North Central Texas Council of Governments - Comments |