ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the transition of the total station’s origin as a field surveying instrument to become a major tool used for crash and crime scene mapping. Las Vegas remains a focal point for crashes, and Redfairn still uses total stations for documenting crash scenes. Even though a total station is not the primary crash or crime scene documentation tool used today, it still has a major role in recording essential scene details. Dynamic Safety presently uses Leica reflectorless total stations equipped with data collectors. Total stations use an infrared wave signal sent from the device to read slopes and measure distances, performing this function one point at a time. As a prismless mapping system, the reflectorless total station can measure the distance to certain objects from virtually right up against its scope to several hundred or even several thousand feet away from the reference point location.
