WISCASSET, Maine — Every month or so, Maine Public Safety holds a Traffic Incident Management (TIM) training to give first responders more tools to manage car accident scenes better.
Here in Maine, a quarter of fatal crashes are a result of secondary crashes which are oftentimes a result of distracted driving -- something first responders are trying to avoid.
"Traffic incident management is a major responsibility of all police officers and first responders when they go to a scene of any incident but more in particular when they go to a crash," Bruce Scott, troop commander for Maine State Police Traffic Safety Unit, said.
TIM is a nationwide first responder training course that first responders here in Maine have tailored to fit the needs of our state.
"Maine is diverse right you can go to Kittery and have a six-lane highway before the bridge and you can go to Fort Kent and have a single-lane bridge," Rand Maker, chief deputy at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, said.
Another thing first responders learn about in this training is the Move Over Law which requires drivers to move over or slow down when passing stopped emergency vehicles on the side of the road. Earlier this month, Maine State Police had a move-over demonstration to remind drivers of this law.
"By not following that statute people get hurt. We lose people every day because they're just not seen," Scott said.
The training includes all first responders with the goal of working together and encouraging Mainers to focus on the road.