Legislation Would Train and Protect Emergency Roadway Responders

*The Emergency Responders Highway Safety Act of 2009 H.R. 4104 *was introduced by Congressman Brad Ellsworth (IN-8). Congressman Ellsworth is a former Sheriff who reached out to the CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute; the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition among other groups about his concern for emergency responders who are working on the roadways helping others.

Congressman Ellsworth related a number of “near misses” that he encountered when working the road. He is acutely aware of the dangers responders face every time they respond to a highway incident.

The Legislation contains several key components:

·         Promotion of responder safety training through a USDOT grant program

·         Guidance of the overall responder safety grant program by a multi-disciplinary advisory group

·         Requirement for a national “struck-by” incident reporting system

·         Annual reporting to Congress on progress in improving responder safety

John Corbin, Wisconsin Traffic Engineer and Chairman of the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition said of the bill, “Passage of this bill would constitute a major advance in implementing the National Unified Goal for Traffic Incident Management.

Respondersafety.com urges all United States readers to contact their Member of Congress and request them to co-sponsor H.R. 4104.