In the Iowa City area, the Iowa DOT is working with Highway Helper contractor, Autobase, to test the use of drones.

The drones help give a different vantage point to help to clear traffic incidents faster.

The idea for the project came up when the Traffic Operations Bureau Director Andy Lewis learned about drones being used for quick clearance in other states…

The Traffic Management Center uses a network of stationary cameras to see what’s up on Iowa roads. Using the drone, they can get a bird’s eye view of what’s happening in the area.

In addition to the live-streamed video, the footage and still images can be captured and saved for review to see if the traffic incident management principles that were used could be improved.