Drones used to improve traffic crash site assessments

Roadway crashes create slowed traffic as responders help victims and safety officers clear roads. This is also one of the most vulnerable times for ‘secondary accidents,’ which often can be worse than an original source of the slowdown, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration.

Purdue engineers partnered with the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office to develop a process using drones that cuts crash site assessment time from hours to minutes and reduces the occurrence of secondary accidents.