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Tolls buy extra dimension of safety on the road Marty Legé came to the NTTA two years ago to organize the Command Center into a network of information and response that touches every aspect of the tollway’s operations. Every customer benefits from the safety, security and incident management the Command Center provides.
A career professional law enforcement planner, Legé brought 20 years of experience and a special understanding of communication, technology and security.
Her team of Command Center Service Specialists are also licensed tele-communicators and state-certified 9-1-1 dispatchers.
"This is really a 24-hour hub – we dispatch ambulances, wreckers, Courtesy Patrol, DPS and even IT and Maintenance crews," Legé said.
Now that’s service! If a sign gets knocked down, a crew is dispatched right way to get it out of the way so drivers don’t have to dodge debris. And the dispatchers don’t have to wait to have the problem reported – automated incident detection (AID) will notify them of the hazard right away, and helps them choose a camera so they can zoom in and troubleshoot the situation.
While the Command Center is proud to be "people friendly," the AID systems are high-tech stuff from the top shelf of Homeland Security.
AID systems use the technology developed for airport security to spot such suspicious situations as a suitcase left unattended. Computers compare the image in the camera with a "normal" version of the scene and announce any discrepancy.
Likewise, when a vehicle stops on the tollway, if it doesn’t move in 30 seconds an alarm will alert dispatchers to the vehicle and DPS or Courtesy Patrol will be sent out to help the stranded motorist and get the lane or shoulder cleared and open.
And the same goes for that mattress in the road. Dispatchers in the Command Center train the camera’s lens on the obstacle and zoom in to confirm what it is.
"There are fixed cameras on the system, but the zoom can be controlled from the center. In public safety, you rarely have the luxury of seeing what is really out there," Lege’ said.
"It’s a cost savings to have the cameras so we won’t dispatch what we don’t need. That allows us to manage the incident, rather than react to it" she said. "It’s more accurate because the proper resources for the job can be notified immediately, rather than having to wait for a trooper to arrive on the scene and call in information."
"We can coordinate the response – it’s a closed system – we can control the entrances and exits and help get first-responders to the scene quickly. This makes the system safer for our customers." she said.
Incidents are logged and other appropriate authorities are called when needed for incidents using a pre-established calling tree appropriate for the type of incident.
The industry standard to clear an accident is about 90 minutes. NTTA’s average is 38 minutes, she said.
"We’re looking at the roadways – the scene – we’re not looking in anybody’s windows. Most cameras are high above the roadway making it nearly impossible to see inside a car," Legé said. "We can zoom in to do quick assessments and pull back to see the whole scene in detail."
Lead-footed drivers might be happy to know speed enforcement is not part of the technology package.
"We don’t have the technology to do speed enforcement from here, and current laws prohibit handling speeding in a civil manner," she said.
That job is still left to the DPS troopers and local police cruising the roads.
The Command Center creates the messages that appear on dynamic message boards. The boards can relay real-time accident information to approaching motorists as well as estimate the time it will take to drive to the next message board – giving motorists a way to estimate their travel time.
"Travel time – that’s important to our customers and that’s what we’re looking for – the time to complete a trip," she said.
The same technology updates a dynamic map on the NTTA.org website so commuters will have up-to-the-minute information about roadways.
And yet another aspect of the total operation is Homeland Security. Legé and all her employees have special training to watch for suspicious situations.
"We’re watching for smoking vehicles – hazardous material transporters – something like an 18-wheeler not doing the right thing – odd or dangerous behavior," she said.
"This is not typical to have a Command Center with all of this information and technology. Usually, Dispatch Centers are not part of the first response to possible hazardous material situations. Using cameras, we can visually identify hazards to help keep first responders and customers safe. There is a lot of involvement by maintenance and IT crews as well," she said.
Just a short time ago – when Legé came to the Authority -- the Command Center was just beginning to use advanced technology. There were cameras at tollbooths and plazas and dispatchers at the center were mostly responding to phone and radio calls. Cameras and the Command Center’s array of CCTV monitors were not as flexible and rarely used.
"Another thing we have now that other law enforcement doesn’t is fiber optics. That fiber "backbone" is now in use system wide and standard in every observation room in every toll plaza," Legé said.
The entire NTTA System – Dallas North Tollway, President George Bush Turnpike, Addison Airport Tunnel and the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge are all monitored 24/7.
"We’ve gotten 22,000 calls so far this year," she said.
The Command Center is so impressive the US Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta, came to see it for himself this year.
There is a whole other world of daily business operations of the NTTA that are also monitored through the Command Center.
Cameras are located at the tollbooths and inside the plazas. Employees are equipped with a panic alarm in case of emergency. The alarm pinpoints their location and displays the scene automatically on a plasma monitor. When an employee uses it, the phone number to the booth will pop up on the monitor so the center can call the employee right away.
Lege’ stresses that the employees are monitored for their safety and "help will be dispatched immediately if the employee is ever in danger," she said.
If carbon monoxide or smoke is detected, an alarm automatically alerts the Command Center.
By the middle of May, the Center had assisted 1,722 motorists, removed 1,124 road hazards, had 201 abandoned vehicles towed, cleared 675 accidents, and taken 6,467 calls from customers. Total activity logged by the telecommunications staff added up to 100,854 transactions so far this year.
And the clock is still ticking.
Frequently seen on freeways, Courtesy Patrol was added last year to the tollway system to help with flat tires and other vehicle emergencies.
"We want it to be an easy drive – safe – with no extra decisions to make," Legé said.
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