Development of Tennessee’s Freeway Service Patrol (HELP) Program

Many studies have been conducted to describe and evaluate the benefits of freeway service patrols, but much less is known about the planning and institutional development of such programs. This case study describes the implementation of Tennessee’s freeway service patrols. In 1998 the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) began planning for patrols to operate on the highest-volume freeways in the state’s four largest cities—Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville. After a staged implementation plan, TDOT has successfully implemented the patrols, known as HELP, in all four cities while also moving forward with related intelligent transportation system and incident management initiatives. Five aspects of program development are described that have been especially important to the success of the program—teamwork, attention to human resource issues, comprehensive training, first-rate vehicles and equipment, and communications.