Adding a new dimension to crash scenes

Road trials to begin next month could see UK police being equipped with new technologies for road traffic accident investigation.

The trials, which will be carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and West Midlands Police, will evaluate the usefulness of a range of innovative surveying techniques that could enable more thorough and rapid investigations.

According to the Highways Agency, serious crashes cause almost a quarter of the congestion on the UK’s motorways. ‘Serious accidents require very detailed investigation and this can slow up the operation of the highway. We’re looking at systems that can increase the speed with which investigators look at accidents,’ said Iwan Parry, principal accident investigator at TRL.

Police surveying an accident scene currently rely on a system known as total station, an advanced electronic version of traditional surveying equipment. However, according to Parry, the technologies in next month’s tests offer potentially significant advantages over these systems.