Drone law changes in the UK set by the government
The UK government has announced plans to bring in registration of any unmanned aerial vehicle bought over 250g and enforce a safety awareness course to would be drone pilots completely altering the way consumers are currently purchasing drones.
To read the uk governments recent publication regarding safe use of drones follow this link
There has still been no set time frame in which to enforce these measures and the department of transport have released a statement stating “the nuts and bolts still have to be ironed out”
The current GEO fencing that is programmed into drone GPS Coordinates that prevents people flying in close proximity to sensitive areas works particularly well with some brands of consumer drone, there is now plans to increase these areas. Hopefully, this will discourage the minority from flying drones irresponsibly as was the case recently at Gatwick Airport.
Drones are a vital tool in inspecting infrastructure and the industry is growing at an incredible rate but there are always a few that misuse or don’t understand the rules regarding airspace restrictions.
Several near misses have been reported between drone and manned aircraft but no major incidents have occurred as yet, supposedly illegal drone use has also extended to delivery of drugs to prison inmates.
There will always be those that will break the law and not abide by the system, these individuals if caught will no doubt be punished accordingly and made an example from. However, these new drone laws should be enforced and regulated by a governing body possibly the CAA.
The USA and other countries currently have a similar registration process for drone use and purchase it’s just a shame that the UK has taken their time in doing so. It is a great start to enforce basic safety training to consumer drone users and will hopefully reduce the number of near misses and incident due to negligence. Nobody should then have any excuse to plead ignorance if caught operating illegally.
Hopefully, this change in drone law will not encourage the consumer to illegally use their equipment for commercial use. We also anticipate that proper training is extended to store assistants, who are as we know currently selling drones with incorrect information encouraging the consumer to purchase based on drone range or achievable height without informing them of the drone code.
Banning drones is not going to happen, there is far too much potential in the industry, it is up to us as the professionals to lead the way with these new rules and regulations and encourage the consumer to operate within their boundaries. If they want to operate illegally then that is their choice and they will eventually be punished.