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Guidelines for Transportation Emergency Training Exercises
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
New threats to public safety are challenging transportation officials on a daily basis. These profession-
als must actively work to prevent and respond to these new threats. This need has led to new efforts in
planning and training; developing procedures; evaluating facility designs with security criteria; using the
power of technology; and enhancing cooperation and coordination with state, regional, and local agen-
cies to mitigate the effects of human-made and natural disasters. In the assessment of the state of pre-
paredness in the transportation environment, the practice of conducting and evaluating emergency
exercises offers a potential tool second only to the experience of responding to an actual emergency.
The guidelines that follow in this document have been designed as a reference for transportation exer-
cise coordinators. Steps are described in the processes of emergency exercise development, imple-
mentation, and evaluation. In addition, the available literature and materials to support transportation
agencies--including state departments of transportation (DOTs), traffic management centers, and pub-
lic transportation systems--are described. Useful materials are presented as references with Internet
links where applicable.
The guidelines in this report are the result of an extensive literature review, as well as telephone inter-
views with personnel in the transportation environment who are actively developing and evaluating exer-
cises. The guidelines analyze recent recommendations and guidance from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) and the Preparedness Directorate Office of Grants and Training (G&T,
formerly the Office for Domestic Preparedness). Both FEMA and the G&T are part of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS).
In addition, contractor-developed materials documenting findings and assessments from exercises
have been reviewed for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Federal Highway Adminis-
tration (FHWA).
The guidelines consist of the required elements of a successful transportation emergency exercise pro-
gram. However, transportation professionals seeking greater levels of preparedness must recognize the
critical part that public safety organizations will play in any community emergency and must closely coor-
dinate with these organizations. Many of these public safety organizations are now working to improve
their capabilities by addressing new requirements spelled out in the National Response Plan (NRP)
and the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which were recently released by the DHS.
The new federal requirements have been developed from existing practices to create an integrated
emergency response capability that can expand or contract, depending on the nature of the emergency,
and that uses procedures and technology to aid the information exchange between agencies at all lev-
els of government. Transportation agencies should proactively integrate with this system, as they may
have an important role to play in response actions needed immediately before, during, and after natural
or human-made emergencies. A program of effective training exercises will strengthen relationships
between public safety, emergency management, and transportation professionals, thereby aiding com-
munities through joint activities, partnerships, and shared exercise improvement plans.
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