Image Credit: Philipp Guelland / Getty Images
Federal regulators have announced that hobbyists will now be required to register their drones with the US government, with air traffic increasing as a result of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
With an estimated 1 million drones being operated in the US, this new law will see those using the vehicles for recreational purposes being required to register with the government for the first time, as it was already mandatory for those using the drones for commercial purposes to do so. According to the Washington Post, more than 100 sightings or “close calls” are reported by pilots per month, meaning that the government has been forced to take action.
Though it isn’t yet known whether those who already owned drones prior to this new ruling will now be required to register, given the typical size of the aircraft it is unlikely that the government will be able to correctly determine who a drone belongs to mid-flight anyway, though crashed drones will now be traceable. This means that those flying drones should be more careful when it comes to operating their UAVs, which is clearly the government’s intention.
Also See: Google Fiber Sends Internet Users Gifts to Convince Them to Change ISPs
The registration plan is set to be enforced swiftly according to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who announced the new law at a press conference today in Washington D.C. A new task force consisting of public and private industry leaders will oversee the plan, with a database of users set to be implemented before Christmas.
Drones interfering with air traffic is an issue that was partially resolved by many major drone manufacturers programming the UAVs in order to prohibit them from being able off when near an airport, though this practice has inevitably not been employed by all companies, and it still doesn’t resolve other issues such as drones crash-landing onto pedestrians and into buildings. This new ruling may not outright prevent these incidents from taking place, but enforcing the regulation of drones should certainly lead more careless fliers to reconsider hurtling their device into their neighbor’s window.
