WHEREAS, highway crashes and incidents in North Carolina cause major congestion, secondary crashes, as well as impact commuter and business traffic; and
WHEREAS, these incidents and additional challenges on roadways necessitate a coordinated multi-agency response, referred to in the public safety and transportation professions as Traffic Incident Management (TIM); and
WHEREAS, TIM stakeholders include law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, transportation agencies, towing and recovery, emergency management, hazardous materials responders, medical examiners, traffic media, freight haulers, and the traveling public; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina responders have trained over 33,000 TIM responders as of September 13, 2021; and
WHEREAS, TIM efforts clear incidents more efficiently, thus improving safety for all while also keeping goods, services, and the traveling public moving throughout the state; and
WHEREAS, the safety of all, including the traveling public and response personnel at incident scenes, is of paramount concern;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim November 8-14, 2021, as “CRASH RESPONDER SAFETY WEEK” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.