BOISE — Every day, first responders across the nation and right here in Idaho put their lives on the line when managing traffic incidents, and to recognize those heroes this week is Incident Response Awareness Week.
Police, fire, emergency medical services, tow companies and transportation workers are all used during roadway incidents.
According to the Idaho Transportation Department, travelers can protect responders by driving engaged and moving over when responders are on the scene.
Unfortunately, traffic incidents are the leading cause of death for EMS responders, law enforcement officers and even tow truck operators.
“Right now in the United States, we lose one tower every six days,” said tow operator Michael Severson. “So right now as far as roadsides we are the highest death rates of all the agencies out there. We just ask if you could just move over and give us a little bit of room because we are out there constantly.”
First responders also play a critical economic role.
According to AAA, the cost of traffic incidents has increased by 85 percent in the last four years.
Responders help fight those rising costs by helping to clear roadways faster and protect drivers.
