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Program Statistics
- In 2006, FIRST assisted at 19,381 incidents, including pushing vehicles out of the traffic lanes, assisting State Patrol with first aid and traffic control at crash scenes, providing small quantities of gasoline, jump starting vehicles and assisting with tire changes.
- While patrolling freeways, FIRST detects 85 percent of the incidents they attend. They are not dispatched to these incidents, they find them purely by patrolling high volume freeways.
Public support
Response cards or letters continue to arrive at the RTMC from motorists assisted by FIRST, with 97 percent of these motorists rating the FIRST program as "excellent."
State Patrol support
The State Patrol has the same number of Troopers on the road today as they did in the 1980's. With the increase in congestion and crashes they are often too busy to assist stranded motorists. They also do not carry the needed equipment for quick repairs. The FIRST program allows Troopers to perform other high priority law enforcement duties.