Hoosier Helpers
Hoosier Helpers is a Good Samaritan program offered by INDOT to assist stranded motorists on Indiana interstates. The purpose of the program is to help keep Indiana interstates safe, provide traffic control and medical assistance at crash sites, and offer limited road side assistance if needed. Since the program began in 1991, Hoosier Helpers have come to the aid of more than 350,000 motorists.
On Thursday, October, 13, 2011, INDOT announced that State Farm Insurance will be the exclusive sponsor of the Hoosier Helper freeway service patrol. The collaborative partnership is designed to create a long-term, supplemental funding source for the program, which is celebrating its 20th year of operation. Click here to learn more about the State Farm Sponsorship of Hoosier Helpers.
Hoosier Helpers are Sponsored by
Hoosier Helper assists a stranded motorist who ran out of gas on I-70.
Helping Keep Indiana Interstates Safe
If you driven on Indiana interstates chances are you have seen Hoosier Helpers at work. Hoosier Helpers patrol interstates, assist motorists, and keep highways safe by performing the following services:
- Changing flat tires
- Fixing minor mechanical problems
- Removing debris from the road at the scene of an accident
- Providing minimal amounts of fuel
- Providing emergency medical assistance
Hoosier Helpers are an invaluable asset to numerous agencies including the Indiana State Police and local first responders in assisting with various emergencies on Indiana interstates. They are trained in First Aid, CPR, Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), HAZMAT, and have completed medical helicopter training.
Indiana Service Areas
Hoosier Helpers currently patrol interstates in three areas of the state, central Indiana, northwest Indiana, and southern Indiana. As Indiana metropolitan areas expand, the coverage areas of the Hoosier Helpers program will increase.
Central Indiana (Indianapolis metropolitan area, covering 95 miles)
- I-465 (entire loop)
- I-65 from Southport Road to 71st Street
- I-70 from I-465 on the west side to Post Road on the east side
- I-69 from I-465 to 96th Street
Northwest Indiana (near Gary, covering 34 miles)
- I-65 from U.S. 231 to U.S. 12/20
- I-80/94 (Borman Expressway) from the Illinois State Line to I-90
- I-94 from I-90 to S.R. 249
Southern Indiana (near Louisville, covering 28 miles)
- I-64 from S.R. 62/64 to the Sherman Minton Bridge over the Ohio River
- I-65 from the Kennedy Bridge over the Ohio River to Memphis Road
- I-265 from I-64 to I-65
Hoosier Helpers cover 157 miles of interstate
in central, northwest and southern Indiana.
A Key Element of TrafficWise
Hoosier Helpers is a key element of TrafficWise, an INDOT program that uses Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to relieve traffic congestion and improve safety. A Purdue University study of the Hoosier Helper program on the Borman Expressway (I-80/94) in northwest Indiana – where Hoosier Helpers aid nearly 20,000 motorists a year – reported a measurable payoff.
The study found that:
- Hoosier Helpers make driving easier by clearing incidents quickly, thus reducing traffic congestion.
- Hoosier Helpers make driving safer by reducing the number of secondary crashes – those that occur in traffic backups created by traffic incidents.
The net result: Every dollar spent on the Hoosier Helper program saves motorists more than 10 times that much in time and fuel wasted while sitting in traffic.
The Traffic Management Center staff and Hoosier Helpers are constantly in touch, exchanging information about motorists in need of help, congestion, or other traffic problems. Traffic Management Center operators can dispatch Hoosier Helpers to render assistance while Hoosier Helpers provide information about the causes of traffic slowdowns.
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