Drones for Road Accident Management: A Systematic Review

The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the academic literature regarding applications of drones in road accident management. It is attempted to address key research questions regarding its status, applications, solutions, challenges, and opportunities. It is the first scholarly study specifically devoted to this topic that we are aware of. A systematic search of Web of Science and Scopus databases yielded 26 relevant articles out of 147 initially identified records. The findings indicate that the emphasis in earlier studies has predominantly been on the accident investigation and analysis, with a specific focus on 3D accident scene reconstruction. This review also shows a growing trend in adopting emerging technologies like drones and integrating them with industry 4.0 technologies for efficient road accident management. Despite the existence of different solution methodologies and frameworks, there remains a dearth of studies examining their suitability for complex accident cases, real-life scenarios, and large-scale accidents. The paper ends with a discussion of the challenges faced by current road accident management systems, the importance of adopting advanced technologies, the prospects of drone research in road accident management, and drone-enabled data analysis for different types of road accidents.