In its first year, the Nebraska State Patrol has deployed drones 185 times to assist in crash investigations and to monitor fires.
Gov. Pete Ricketts appeared at a Thursday morning news conference at the State Patrol headquarters to applaud its drone program, which he said will continue to make investigations more cost effective.
By hovering over a crash site, drone pilots are able to take photos and measurements of scenes where troopers ordinarily would've had to stand in the road with tape measures.
For : outside the Nebraska State Patrol headquarters told reporters to “stay tuned†for news of a special session.
— Jenna Thompson (@jennavictoriat)
Use of drones in investigations has reduced time on site from 2.5 hours to 53 minutes, Ricketts said.
Closing a roadway costs Nebraska drivers $310 an hour, he said, and drones saved citizens $1.7 million last year by keeping traffic flowing.
Col. John Bolduc, superintendent of the State Patrol, said it hopes to grow the program substantially as it adds more pilots in the coming year.
People are also reading…
"I want to congratulate the colonel and his entire team for continuing to look for ways to be able to serve the people of Nebraska, leveraging this new technology that will help keep people safer, help keep good people on the way to where they're going, and make our whole experience in Nebraska better," Ricketts said.Â
The State Patrol has 32 certified pilots who have deployed drones not only in crash investigations, but also to capture images of fires, helping firefighters to locate the source of a blaze more effectively.
The program has 36 drones. Three have thermal cameras, which can help locate the hot spots of a blaze.
Each drone costs about $3,000, but thermal drones are $8,500.
Bolduc said drones eliminate the risk troopers face by being on the roadway during an investigation.
"Time on scene is very important," Bolduc said. "Drone technology has assisted us in reducing that time on scene, which makes it ultimately safer for everybody involved in that event."