Time To Go: When a Natural Disaster Strikes There Comes a Moment When It Really Is Time to Go

This article examines U.S. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology from the standpoint of its usability for emergency management given the tragic results of Hurricane Katrina. The author suggests that while many cities and counties have deployed ITS utilizing proprietary hardware and communications protocols there is little interoperability. Many city and county traffic management centers do not support NTCIP standards. The Department of Homeland Security has received billions of dollars but must make problems associated with security and emergency response work better by increased interoperability between ITS and the Emergency Operations Centers.