Drones aid traffic police, but privacy, safety questioned

Traffic police in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region are using drones to monitor traffic violations and assist traffic flow.

"With the fast-changing urban traffic environment, traffic police are faced with many difficulties, including an insufficient number of officers, low efficiency and inadequate surveillance cameras, which really hinders the management of road traffic," said Han Zhen, a traffic police officer with the public security bureau in Nanning.

Since August, Nanning traffic officers have been using drones around train stations, shopping malls and subway stations, where there tend to be more traffic violations. They say the drones can greatly speed up response times and otherwise enhance efficiency.