Four opinions about Total Station

This question is for any user of a Total Station for mapping crash scenes. My department uses a impluse laser, but I am curious as to the advantages of a Total Station over others.

Answer 1.
We are fortunate to have access to a 'shared' Total Station that we have utilized on a few 'really bad' scenes. The Total Station is easier, less prone to human error, and is very accurate. Those that have used both preferred the Total Station. With all that said, my Department won't be going out and getting one, cost being the main factor. The impulse system was an easier sell as it is used for traffic enforcement as well as the measuring capabilities. The LTI is also handy for quick measurements that would not be as easy with the Total Station.

Answer 2.
My department uses an LTI system with an angle encoder, so it functions essentially the same as a total station. It has worked very well for us and the cash outlay is comparatively low.

Answer 3.
That being said, I prefer to use the Total station with the data collector. I bought this system for use in my private business and have been very happy with it. It is easy to use and way more accurate than is really needed for this work. One very nice feature of a true total station as compared to the LTI is magnification through the sight glass making it much easier to hit that prism on the distant shots. Moving the system is also very easy.

Answer 4.
I don't know much about the other systems but my department just purchased a total station and I think it's great! We used it for the first time on a fatal collision we worked recently. It took 55 minutes to do a scale diagram of the scene as compared to all day with my tape measures and such. Sure, it was expensive but it worth it!