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Connecting Traffic Management Systems (TMSs) with Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems

• Jun 19, 2025

Research Description

Research Problem Statement: Most traffic incidents are first detected by means of a cellular telephone call that is received by the 9-1-1 systems. The information is then routed to the appropriate public safety agencies for dispatching law enforcement, fire and rescue, and medical services. This information may not always go to the TMSs and their operations centers (TMCs) which often find out about the incident through their own set of devices and field detectors, usually several minutes later. Similarly, TMCs have traffic and transportation-related information that would be important to the public safety agencies and responders to enable quicker response and to manage incident scenes more effectively. There is a strong interest and some background work being done in data integration between TMC and public safety CAD databases to enable two-way communication among TMCs and public safety agencies.

Purpose: To serve as a guide for TMCs and public safety agencies looking to share real-time data with each other for proactive incident management and response coordination.

Needs and gaps in practice: Linking TMCs with CAD systems can significantly enhance real-time incident response and coordination between transportation and emergency services benefiting both TMCs and public safety agencies. Though there have been some recent advances on this topic, not much is known about the current state of practice as well as the opportunities it presents for next generation of TMSs. Further, limited interoperability between TMCs and CAD systems restrict timely information exchange. A lack of standardized protocols for data sharing across agencies can create operational inefficiencies.

Objectives:

· Document state of current practice and process for integrating TMCs with CAD systems.

· Review existing partnerships and data sharing agreements and levels of data sharing (e.g., manual notification, view only, automated data sharing).

· Document suggested best practices and synthesized lessons learned from existing practices.

· Identify institutional, operational, and legal factors that affect the effectiveness of partnerships between TMCs and public safety agencies.

· Identify use cases for data sharing among TMCs and public safety agencies.

Additional Supporting Information

SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF JON OBENBERGER FROM TRB ITS COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Proposed products to be developed:

· Report on current state of practice, lessons learned, data sharing, challenges and barriers, and strategies to advance TMC-CAD data integration.

· Development of use cases for linking TMCs with CAD systems to enable real-time incident response and coordination between transportation (e.g., traffic and transit

management centers), public safety agencies (e.g., law enforcement, fire and rescue, medical), and other stakeholders (e.g., towing companies). Some of the use case examples include but are not limited to automated incident alerts for quicker response, real-time road closures and detour updates, automated dispatch of service vehicles (e.g., towing service), and coordinated signal timing for emergency vehicles.

· Outreach material (e.g., fact sheet, power point presentation).

Intended audience: Traffic and transit management centers, TMC operators, emergency response and law enforcement agencies, state/local DOTs, researchers/policymakers.

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Submitted By

Adam Hopps

National Operations Center of Excellence

202-680-0091

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