DPS trains first responders on traffic incident management

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - This is a drill, a training scenario on how vehicles in a minor-injury crash are pushed, pulled and dragged.

"I've been doing this for about 10 years every day on my way to work, it's probably at least once or twice a month I'm removing vehicles from the lane in a construction zone," said Matthew Anderson of ADOT.

Anderson is one of those guys who will come to your rescue. He might get there before DPS or police.

"It can be very intimidating with the traffic whizzing by," he said.

A crash that happened on I-17 a few weeks ago where a car rolled on its side is an example of the traffic incident management course being taught today. You can see a patrol car pulling the wrecked car across the freeway to the shoulder.

"Secondary collisions are almost always as bad as or worse than the original collision and that's what we are trying to avoid," said DPS Trooper Kameron Lee. "The sooner we can open the roadway, we minimize those secondary collisions."

Trooper Lee says nearly 350 vehicle crashes happen in Arizona daily and if ADOT employees, firefighters, and ambulance drivers who all attend this training are versed on the same safety precautions, more lives can be saved.

"This is a specialized bumper, this is used specifically for pushing vehicles just like we actually pushed this one on its top," Trooper Lee said.

"It takes upwards of 30 minutes to get a tow truck on scene, so ADOT supplies all of its vehicles with the necessary tools and training," Anderson said.

The tools, says Anderson, allow him to clear the scene faster and the training gives him the confidence to know he's doing it correctly.