Overview
Talking TIM: Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Traffic Incident Management
The Talking TIM webinar series, brought to you by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), provides a forum where TIM champions with any level of experience can exchange information about current practices, programs, and technologies. Each month, the FHWA TIM Program Team will feature content that highlights successful programs, identifies best practices, and showcases technology that advances the profession.
The June 2021 Talking TIM webinar will focus on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Traffic Incident Management. Unmanned aerial systems are an emerging technology that is poised to take traffic incident management (TIM) to a new level of speed, precision, and efficiency. UAS reduces responder time on scene, accelerates crash investigations, creates better situational awareness for responders, and is a cost-effective measuring and mapping alternative.
Presenters
Dwayne Day, Homeland Security Planner and Small UAS (sUAS) Program Manager for Delaware DOT, describes how the transportation agency partners with a variety of state and local agency partners to bring UAS support to many operations that impact transportation and safety in the state.
Ben Goddard, the Incident Management Supervisor for the Utah DOT, gives us insights into how a transportation agency’s incident response unit uses UAS to increase situational awareness for on-scene responders at traffic incidents, including monitoring traffic queue and approaching traffic.
The Chula Vista Police Department is a leader in the use of UAS for public safety, and Lt. Miriam Foxx shares a presentation on how the agency deploys UAS as a first responder to incidents, often arriving while ground units are still responding. UAS response to all types of incidents, including traffic crashes and other roadway events, improves response time and helps the agency get the right resources to the scene more quickly, and support their on-scene work once they arrive.
Learning Objectives:
Understand agency perspectives about how UAS has helped to improve Traffic Incident Management.