Drones are multipurpose: They can and . Drones can and make that garner pretty impressive watch counts on YouTube.
Drones can also map fatal car crashes, which is why the Austin Police Department recently doled out $10,468 to buy two of them.
鈥淎 fatal crash scene is unique in and of itself,鈥� said APD Lt. Blake Johnson, who oversees the Vehicular Homicide Unit. 鈥淭ime is of the essence.鈥�
Using drones to capture data about fatal crashes is not uncommon. At least 910 emergency services departments in the U.S. are using them for this purpose, .
Typically, officers use surveying tools, including lasers, to map and measure a scene, determine fault (if any) and decide whether charges should be filed. This process can take three hours, Johnson said.
With a drone, he said, the process can take 15 minutes.
鈥淚t will go up and fly a grid pattern,鈥� he said, 鈥渃apturing a series of photos and imagery, which we then download into a computer on the backside, at a desktop, and it makes a 3D model of it.鈥�
If police can map a scene faster, he said, roadblocks can be removed more quickly, officers spend less time at a crash scene (which may be on one side of a busy highway) and drivers face fewer slowdowns.
Plus, drone footage can be more accurate than on-the-ground mapping.
鈥淚f somebody鈥檚 loved one is killed by a drunk driver, they want that person held to justice and this creates an excellent, excellent product for the ultimate crash reconstruction to bring to court,鈥� Johnson said.
