The Crash Responder Safety Week (CRSW) initiative, recognizing all traffic incident management (TIM) response communities, will take place this year from November 13-17, 2023.
This week affords a unique opportunity for every Traffic Incident Management (TIM) community to make a difference individually and jointly for roadway safety during traffic incidents. TIM communities across the nation come together this week by teaching each other and the motoring public about our common goal and responsibility for safe, quick roadway clearance. To learn more about CRSW, please visit the FHWA CRSW site.
National Kickoff for Crash Responder Safety Week - Year 2023
We are planning to hold a National Kickoff for Crash Responder Safety Week on November 13, 2023. Event information will be provided soon.
All State Planning Calls
TIM professionals, State and local public information and communications officers, and response community leaders are invited to join the 3-part All-State planning webinar series. Each webinar feature expert(s) related to a key outreach mechanism for CRSW. The FHWA TIM Program team (Jim Austrich, Paul Jodoin, and Joe Tebo) then conduct an all-state roll call, requesting that responder communities in each State highlight their plans to commemorate the week. We kindly request highlights be limited to a minute or two. Planning webinars take place on the following dates
- June 21, 2023 - Register now
- July 12, 2023 - registration open soon
- October 11, 2023 - registration open soon
Crash Responder Safety Week 2022 Planning Efforts
CRSW Campaign Toolkit - Year 2022
The theme for the 2022 Crash Responder Safety Week (CRSW) was "Respect Our Roadside Heroes." To help amplify common messages, the FHWA Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Program established—in cooperation with the CRSW National Committee and State stakeholders—a calendar for daily CRSW communications. The FHWA encouraged organizations to communicate day-of-week themes through stories and testimonials from responders that help put the traveling public "in their shoes."
In advance of CRSW, organizations helped promote this week by publishing a CRSW article in your organization’s print or electronic newsletter (customizable CRSW article), recording a video message from your organization’s leadership commemorating CRSW (customizable video script, distributing the CRSW2022 flyer, and created a social media plan for CRSW.
To help to increase this important week's key messages by using the CRSW Daily Calendar to align your promotion, press outreach, and social media engagement with hundreds of other organizations. Use #RoadsideHeroes when posting on social media. The FHWA will promote CRSW events using its official Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram platforms.
CRSW Daily Calendar - Year 2022
Please click on the theme for each day to access sample social media postings and optional supporting resources.
- Monday, November 14: Respect Our Roadside Heroes
- Tuesday, November 15: Responder Training
- Wednesday, November 16: Slow Down, Move Over
- Thursday, November 17: More Than a Crash
- Friday, November 18: Driver Education
CRSW All-States Planning Webinar Series - Year 2022
- May 11: Crash Responder Safety Week 2022: All States Webinar #1
- July 13: Crash Responder Safety Week 2022: All States Webinar #2
- September 14: Crash Responder Safety Week 2022: All States Webinar #3
Crash Responder Safety Week 2021 Planning Efforts
The following summarizes the 2021 webinars:
- June 9: What is CRSW? | View Summary
- July 14: Governor’s Proclamations | View Summary
- Aug 11: Mass Responder Training | View Summary
- Sep 8, Dynamic Message Signs | View Summary
- Oct 13: Video Testimonials | View Summary
- Nov 8: National Kick off for Crash Responder Safety Week 2021 | View Webinar
CRSW Resource List
NOCoE is pleased to partner with FHWA to feature CRSW partner resources. We encourage TIM partners to share their CRSW outreach materials with the FHWA TIM program for potential inclusion in the resources list below. Please share your planned press release, dynamic message sign strategy, video, Governor’s proclamation, poster or flyers, mass training announcements, and other CRSW materials to emira.rista@aemcorp.com with the subject line “CRSW2022.”
How to Obtain a Governor’s Proclamation for CRSW:
- Your State’s Governor’s Proclamation Request Process
- Year 2021 Governor’s Proclamations – CO, CT, GA, MA, MI, NC, NV, PR, TN, VA, WA, and WI.
- Year 2020 Governor’s Proclamations – CO, CT, MD, WA, and WI.
CRSW 2021 Resources:
- CRSW 2021 social media calendar
- CRSW 2021 customizable press release
- States CRSW 2021 Plans (updated September 2021)
Social Media Resources:
- Pixabay – find royalty-free photos
- Unsplash – find royalty-free photos
- Hootsuite – schedule your social media posts in advance
- TweetDeck – schedule your social media posts in advance
Reference Videos:
- A Message from Wisconsin’s Emergency Responders – 1-minute YouTube video with law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, towing/recovery drivers, and highway maintenance workers requesting the public’s help to keep responders safe.
- Move Over Law (Wisconsin DOT) – 8-minute YouTube video highlights the State’s Responder Safety law and offers three testimonials –from police, transportation, and towing representatives.
- Move Over Law Trooper (New Jersey Governments) – 30-second YouTube video requests drivers to slow down and move over, citing the law and the life-ending impact on a police officer.
- Towing Move Over Law (Hampshire Towing) – 2-minute YouTube video features towing first person requests to slow down and move over.
- Safety Service Patrol Close Call (Tennessee DOT) – 2-minute YouTube video from Tennessee Safety Service Patrol operator, David Leake, shares his near-miss story and asks motorists.
- Slow Down Move Over (respondersafety.com) – 30-second downloadable video features EMS, fire, law enforcement, transportation, and towing responders asking motorists to slow down and move over with the message “we’ve got your back, do you have ours?”
- It’s No Picnic Out Here (respondersafety.com) – 30-second downloadable video features EMS, Fire and Rescue, and Police personnel asking motorists to slow down.
- Family of tow truck driver killed in crash urges drivers to be safer on the road – 1-minute message to drivers from the family of a tow truck driver who lost his life while responding to an incident.
- First Person Requests for the public to slow down and move over from injured responders:
- San Marcos Police Officer: https://youtu.be/evWqr3Tq_NI
- San Antonio Police Officer: https://youtu.be/7Qmrgv2MJWA
- Harris County Deputy: https://youtu.be/0Jht3jOSFjs
- Texas Toll Authority Safety Service Patrol Operator: Message from an injured Safety Service Patrol operator
Sample Press Release and News Coverage
- Sample News Release (Missouri DOT)
- Shocking – 70 percent of drivers don’t know to ‘move over’ | FOX 2 (fox2now.com) – Local news article highlights Move Over law and the consequences of its disregard by motorists.
- Video: Move Over. It's The Law - WCBI TV | Your News Leader – Local news article cites the Mississippi expansion of the Move Over law to include utility and construction workers.