KANSAS CITY – Every year hundreds of emergency responders across the country representing fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, towing, and transportation agencies such as KDOT and MoDOT are struck and either injured or killed while responding to incidents on the roadways. In fact, traffic incidents are the leading cause of death for EMS responders and law enforcement officers.
Crash Responder Safety Week (CRSW), formerly known as Traffic Incident Management Week, will begin on Monday, Nov. 8, through Sunday, Nov. 14. This initiative recognizes all traffic incident management (TIM) response communities including Kansas City’s own bi-state traffic management center, KC Scout. Accordioning to the National Operations Center of Excellence, this week is “an opportunity to make a difference individually and jointly for roadway safety during traffic incidents by teaching each other and the monitoring public about our common goal and responsibility for safe, quick clearance.”
As reported by AAA, every year approximately 200 roadside workers lose their lives in the line of duty. Unfortunately, both MoDOT and KDOT are included in this tragic statistic. In 2021, MoDOT lost long-time Maintenance Supervisor Lloyd Crawford in the line of duty when a motorist struck and killed him while he was responding to a flooding emergency. In 2012, MoDOT tragically lost another employee when a motorist struck and killed Emergency Response Operator Clifton Scott who was attending to a crash. Since 2010, KHP’s Motorist Assist Vehicles have been struck 10 times while assisting motorists in the Kansas City metro.
In 2020 alone, Kansas City Scout responded to 47,883 incidents on metro roadways. This team helped clear crashes, they responded when motorists had a flat tires, when semis overturned, or even when debris littered high speed lanes to name a few. Each time, these incident responders put their own safety on the line to clear the incidents and return traffic to normal. Responders need YOUR help to get everyone home safely not just during CRSW, but every single day. You can help by buckling up, keeping your eyes on the road, slowing down, and moving over for ALL emergency vehicles.
For more information about MoDOT news, projects or events, please visit our website at www.modot.mo.gov/kansascity. For instant updates, follow MoDOT_KC on Twitter, or share posts and comments on our Facebook at www.facebook.com/MoDOT.KansasCity. MoDOT Kansas City maintains more than 7,000 miles of state roadway in nine counties. Sign up online for work zone updates or call 888-ASK-MODOT (275-6636). For more information on KDOT news, projects, and events, please visit http://www.ksdot.org/divoperat/district1.asp. Follow us on Twitter at @KansasCityKDOT and on Facebook at @NEKansasKDOT. KDOT maintains about 2,000 miles of state roadway in 3 counties in the Kansas City metro.