Perceived Feasibility of SIART for Drone-Based Traffic Accident Response in Bogotá: A Mixed-Methods Study

Road traffic accidents present significant challenges in terms of emergency response, evidence collection and urban mobility in congested cities. This study evaluated the perceived feasibility and institutional acceptance of the Integrated System for Traffic Accident Response and Reconstruction (SIART), which is a proposed framework that combines remotely piloted aircraft, digital imaging, and geospatial information technologies. A mixed-methods approach was adopted in Bogotá, Colombia. Quantitative information was collected via a 12-question survey given to 191 traffic police officers, while qualitative information was obtained through semi-structured interviews with 30 personnel involved in road accident investigations. Questionnaire responses were analysed using frequencies and percentages, while thematic content analysis was used to examine the interviews. Participants generally perceived SIART as being potentially useful for the automated collection of evidence, the transmission of data in real time, digital reporting and the documentation of accident scenes in three dimensions. However, they also identified barriers relating to regulation, finance, infrastructure, training, privacy, and inter-institutional coordination. The study provides a context-specific conceptual framework integrating technological feasibility, institutional acceptance, operational requirements and governance conditions for the future implementation of drone-supported traffic accident response in Bogotá. As SIART had not been operationally deployed at the time of the study, the findings represent perceptions of feasibility and institutional acceptance rather than evidence of improvements in response time, forensic accuracy or traffic congestion. Future research should validate the proposed framework through controlled field pilots and comparisons with conventional accident response procedures.