If you noticed a drone flying over I-55 recently, it’s likely the Missouri State Highway Patrol was using the unmanned aircraft to take photos for crash reconstruction, Cpl. Juston Wheetley said.
He said the patrol doesn’t use the drones to catch speeders.
“It’s just a tool and a resource that they will use whenever they can to get a better accurate representation of the crash scene,” he said. “It comes in really handy when the crash scene is extensive or over a great distance.”
Capt. John Hotz said using a drone to help in accident reconstruction is a major time saver. “Flying (unmanned aerial vehicles) has decreased the amount of time needed to process a complex crash scene to an average time of less than 30 minutes, with many scenes being processed in approximately 20 minutes,” he said. “On average, documenting a crash scene with survey grade instruments takes approximately one and a half hours. As the complexity grows, with multiple vehicles, higher involved speeds, or large geographic areas, securing evidence can easily creep into multi-hour operations.”
The highway patrol started using drones for crash investigations in August 2018 and has 21 drones used across the state, Hotz said.
He said 17 highway patrol troopers are trained to use the drones and all of them have an FAA Part 107 UAS remote pilot license.
Hotz also said the highway patrol does not use the drones for speed enforcement.
“They have a number of potential uses; however, any potential requests outside this primary focus will be reviewed by the patrol’s Field Operations Bureau commander and may be approved on a limited basis,” he said.
A Missouri state law prohibits state, county or local law enforcement agencies to use drones or any other unmanned aircraft to collect evidence in criminal conduct without a warrant.