Expedited Crash Investigation - With Use of Technologies for Documentation and Processing

The mobility and efficiency of California highways are impeded by the recurrent and non-recurrent congestion on a daily basis. Roadway incidents, especially collisions, often result in traffic congestion and travel delays. This project is initiated to explore the use of technologies that will potentially bring direct and immediate benefits to the law enforcement officers and other personnel who are involved in the handling of collision sites and subsequent investigations. The work carried out in this project includes three major components: (1) The experimentation of integrated vehicular technology systems to provide assistance for law enforcement officers, (2) The exploration of utilizing GPS devices for vehicle and incident locations, and (3) The development of photogrammetry tool to extract supplementary information from collision scenes.Valuable insights were gained through collaborations with the University of New Hampshire Project 54 and the City of Carlsbad, California, Public Safety Technology Programs. The key factors to successful deployment of technological systems are the easy-to-learn operation features and friendliness of user-machine interface. Integrated multiple-function capabilities and open architecture are important considerations in adopting technological systems to ensure favorable cost-benefit returns of investments from the perspectives of local jurisdictions or agencies.This report constitutes the first phase of the project, sponsored under California PATH Task Order 5216, while the complete report is documented in a joint report for Task Order 6216