Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Traffic Incident Management

Foreword

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations has actively engaged in the national deployment of Traffic Incident Management (TIM) programs since the office was deployed. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are increasingly being used by public agencies for a variety of purposes. Public agencies are developing sections to coordinate UAS use. Several Law Enforcement agencies have been using UAS for crash investigation and re-construction that is showing significant potential. This Primer describes how unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can benefit traffic crash investigations and other traffic incident management-related activities.

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. However, compliance with applicable statutes or regulations cited in this document is required

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. The FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.

FHWA-HOP-20-063

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Traffic Incident Management

5. Report Date

February 2022

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

Grady Carrick (Enforcement Engineering Inc.),
Lisa Burgess (Kimley Horn and Associates)

8. Performing Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Under contract to:

Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
101 Station Landing, Suite 410
Medford, MA 02155

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-16-D-00051/693JJ319F000293

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

HOP

15. Supplementary Notes

16. Abstract

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations has actively engaged in the national deployment of Traffic Incident Management (TIM) programs since the office was deployed. Public agencies are increasingly using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for a variety of purposes and are developing sections to coordinate UAS use. Several Law Enforcement agencies have been using UAS for crash investigation and re-construction that is showing significant potential. The Primer describes how unmanned aircraft systems can benefit traffic crash investigations and other traffic incident management-related activities. Presentation of legal considerations, operation, crash investigation applications, and implementation guidance are included, as well as the benefits of UAS with examples from States.

17. Key Words

18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions.

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (of this page)

Unclassified

21. No of Pages

22. Price

N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)

Reproduction of completed pages authorized

SI (Modern Metric)

Approximate Conversions to SI Units
Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length
in	inches	25.4	millimeters	mm
ft	feet	0.305	meters	m
yd	yards	0.914	meters	m
mi	miles	1.61	kilometers	km
Area
in²	square inches	645.2	square millimeters	mm²
ft²	square feet	0.093	square meters	m²
yd²	square yard	0.836	square meters	m²
ac	acres	0.405	hectares	ha
mi²	square miles	2.59	square kilometers	km²
Volume
fl oz	fluid ounces	29.57	milliliters	mL
gal	gallons	3.785	liters	L
ft³	cubic feet	0.028	cubic meters	m³
yd³	cubic yards	0.765	cubic meters	m³
NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m³
Mass
oz	ounces	28.35	grams	g
lb	pounds	0.454	kilograms	kg
T	short tons (2000 lb)	0.907	megagrams (or "metric ton")	Mg (or "t")
Temperature (exact degrees)
°F	Fahrenheit	5 (F-32)/9 or (F-32)/1.8	Celsius	°C
Illumination
fc	foot-candles	10.76	lux	lx
fl	foot-Lamberts	3.426	candela/m²	cd/m²
Force and Pressure or Stress
lbf	poundforce	4.45	newtons	N
lbf/in²	poundforce per square inch	6.89	kilopascals	kPa

Conversion Factors

Approximate Conversions from SI Units
Symbol	When You Know	Multiply By	To Find	Symbol
Length
mm	millimeters	0.039	inches	in
m	meters	3.28	feet	ft
m	meters	1.09	yards	yd
km	kilometers	0.621	miles	mi
Area
mm²	square millimeters	0.0016	square inches	in²
m²	square meters	10.764	square feet	ft²
m²	square meters	1.195	square yards	yd²
ha	hectares	2.47	acres	ac
km²	square kilometers	0.386	square miles	mi²
Volume
mL	milliliters	0.034	fluid ounces	fl oz
L	liters	0.264	gallons	gal
m³	cubic meters	35.314	cubic feet	ft³
m³	cubic meters	1.307	cubic yards	yd³
Mass
g	grams	0.035	ounces	oz
kg	kilograms	2.202	pounds	lb
Mg (or "t")	megagrams (or "metric ton")	1.103	short tons (2000 lb)	T
Temperature (exact degrees)
°C	Celsius	1.8C+32	Fahrenheit	°F
Illumination
lx	lux	0.0929	foot-candles	fc
cd/m²	candela/m²	0.2919	foot-Lamberts	fl
Force and Pressure or Stress
N	newtons	02.225	poundforce	lbf
kPa	kilopascals	0.145	poundforce per square inch	lbf/in²

Note: SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003)

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