Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are gradually becoming useful and common. In the consumer electronics (CE) category, unmanned systems have changed the way monitoring by air is conducted in such fields as transportation, the environment, and emergency rescue. This article examines how UAVs combined with artificial-intelligence (AI) technology are used for recognizing traffic congestion. Congested roadways cause traffic delays, which wastes fuel, adds to pollution, and invites road rage. Society can benefit from technologies that help recognize and relieve traffic congestion. We present a practical framework for using UAVs to recognize traffic problems. According to this framework, images of traffic scenes are first captured by a UAV system based on route-planning technology. Then the aerial images are further processed by using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Finally, the output is transferred to a traffic management center.