Ban commercial sale of drones to the public

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edwest2

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I just saw an ad for a quad-copter style drone on sale at a well-known retail chain for under $400.00. If I was rich or a criminal or terrorist, I think this would come in handy since it has an HD Video camera and I could control it with my smartphone. Issues:
  1. I’m terrible at landing the thing and it falls on a civilian or vehicle causing injury or damage.
  2. It falls (or strikes) on a police vehicle or vehicle with government plates.
  3. It is connected to a crime or terrorist act.
Thoughts?

Ed
 
edwest2 said:
I just saw an ad for a quad-copter style drone on sale at a well-known retail chain for under $400.00. If I was rich or a criminal or terrorist, I think this would come in handy since it has an HD Video camera and I could control it with my smartphone. Issues:
  1. I’m terrible at landing the thing and it falls on a civilian or vehicle causing injury or damage.
  2. It falls (or strikes) on a police vehicle or vehicle with government plates.
  3. It is connected to a crime or terrorist act.
Thoughts?

Ed
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I am not exactly sure what you are asking.

With these common sense goes a long way.

I have one. They are fun and the videos/photos are amazing. They have GPS and auto pilot controls that make flying it and landing it simple.

I belong to the AMA who has guidelines to follow and also provides liability insurance as part of membership. Your homeowners insurance also may cover things.

I try to fly it in rural areas or by the coast where it won’t bother anyone else or accidentky damage something.
 
edwest2 said:
I just saw an ad for a quad-copter style drone on sale at a well-known retail chain for under $400.00. If I was rich or a criminal or terrorist, I think this would come in handy since it has an HD Video camera and I could control it with my smartphone. Issues:
  1. I’m terrible at landing the thing and it falls on a civilian or vehicle causing injury or damage.
  2. It falls (or strikes) on a police vehicle or vehicle with government plates.
  3. It is connected to a crime or terrorist act.
Thoughts?

Ed
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A lot of towns near me are working to limit drones due to issues that have come up with drones injuring people and with drones interfering with emergency services. It won’t be long before everyone catches up. Drones are an interesting idea that has already been far too easily abused by ignorant people.
 
Padres1969 said:
A lot of towns near me are working to limit drones due to issues that have come up with drones injuring people and with drones interfering with emergency services. It won’t be long before everyone catches up. Drones are an interesting idea that has already been far too easily abused by ignorant people.
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I agree with this. I am in favour of a very strict regulation and oversight, given the many abuses happening everywhere.
 
Oh heqq.

Lethal weapons are protected from regulation and you want to ban a toy?

I am much more bothered by someone who may end me with a firearm (which I accept, however, as part of the price of living in this country) than by someone who may take embarrassing photos of me from a drone.

If the thing is heavy enough to cause damage by falling to earth, methinks the FAA would already be on top of it.

JMNAAHO.

ICXC NIKA
 
GEddie said:
Oh heqq.

Lethal weapons are protected from regulation and you want to ban a toy?

I am much more bothered by someone who may end me with a firearm (which I accept, however, as part of the price of living in this country) than by someone who may take embarrassing photos of me from a drone.

If the thing is heavy enough to cause damage by falling to earth, methinks the FAA would already be on top of it.

JMNAAHO.

ICXC NIKA
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A thing does not have to be big or weigh much to cause serious bodily injury if it falls out of the sky and crashes into a pedestrian, especially one unaware they are about to be struck, or someone who is elderly or an infant or otherwise especially vulnerable.

In any event, my opinion was sought on the matter by the questioner and I have given my opinion. I really have no interest in debating the matter since my opinion is a decided one and not open to revision.
 
Easy.

It becomes an extension of the person’s body, and the law should assume you always have the control, so no legal arguments if you lose control. Such devices should be traced to the owner by a serial number.

Someone steals your gun and kills someone, you do the time.

If your drone runs out of gas/electricity and lands in the hot tub that was under ‘surveillance’, you get arrested for peeping. When it lands it hits a bather, or causes a loss of an eye, or injures an infant, you get the peeping charge AND the feloneous assault charge.

When you decide to own these things you take the responsibility of what you do with it and what anyone else does with it, and what it does on it’s own. You take responsibility for it’s weaknesses and what is not 100% controllable about it.

In that case where the guy was charged shotgunning one down snooping above his property, that was a travesty. I’d have done the same. The rule about buying it and taking responsibility should make his case.

We spend millions trying to prove through tracing that a person who owned a gun was not the shooter. Why should that be the public’s responsibility, it doesn’t serve the common good. The guy did a careless job of owning it, he get’s the conviction. After a while of this, you will begin to see very responsible people.

M2C
 
edwest2 said:
I just saw an ad for a quad-copter style drone on sale at a well-known retail chain for under $400.00. If I was rich or a criminal or terrorist, I think this would come in handy since it has an HD Video camera and I could control it with my smartphone. Issues:
  1. I’m terrible at landing the thing and it falls on a civilian or vehicle causing injury or damage.
  2. It falls (or strikes) on a police vehicle or vehicle with government plates.
  3. It is connected to a crime or terrorist act.
Thoughts?

Ed
Click to expand...
My dad and I were discussing this the other day, we are both surprised a drone has not been used in an act of terrorism or a crime in general, at least neither of us has ever heard of such a thing…seems like it would be a common thing today, since they are so widely available, cheap, and no way to prove who is operating them.

My dad thought maybe these things do happen, but the media is just not reporting on it.

They really are the perfect tool for a criminal, one example, a guy could rig one with a gun, some servos so it could fire the gun if needed and basically rob someone, a bank, etc, then fly the drone off to God knows where…law enforcement would have no way to find out who was behind this!

Banning them would not work, its too late for that, as so many are already out there in private hands, not to mention, anyone can buy basic parts and build a drone of any size too
 
mikekle said:
My dad and I were discussing this the other day, we are both surprised a drone has not been used in an act of terrorism or a crime in general, at least neither of us has ever heard of such a thing…seems like it would be a common thing today, since they are so widely available, cheap, and no way to prove who is operating them.

My dad thought maybe these things do happen, but the media is just not reporting on it.

They really are the perfect tool for a criminal, one example, a guy could rig one with a gun, some servos so it could fire the gun if needed and basically rob someone, a bank, etc, then fly the drone off to God knows where…law enforcement would have no way to find out who was behind this!

Banning them would not work, its too late for that, as so many are already out there in private hands, not to mention, anyone can buy basic parts and build a drone of any size too
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They aren’t used for that because they’d be completely ineffective. The hobby drones can barely cary a GoPro camera let alone something substantial. It took an engineering student to rig a gun on one and it barely got off the ground, let alone was accurate at all.

The media desperately wants someone injured or killed with these. They cover whenever they crash.

As far as I am aware there have been no fatalities, no airplane crashes, and virtually no injuries.

Frankly it’s hysteria fueled by ignorance.
 
Exiled_Child said:
There’s also this contraption:

digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/battle-innovations-anti-drone-gun/

Who knows whether it would be powerful enough to work on Amazon dot com or Domino’s Pizza drones, when and if they come…
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Yeah, they can’t sell that device. I think it’s FCC regulation title 4 article 15 that prohibits it. You’ve probably seen part of this regulation written on the underside of various electronics stating that the device is not allowed to generate signals that interfere with other electronics.

There’s also a regulation about actively messing up cell signals since this would be seen as interfering with an emergency communication device.

If you dig deep enough in their page you’ll find something about how they cannot sell or trade the device.

Generating interference that messes with other devices isn’t hard. But it isn’t allowed.
 
mikekle said:
really are the perfect tool for a criminal, one example, a guy could rig one with a gun, some servos so it could fire the gun if needed and basically rob someone, a bank, etc, then fly the drone off to God knows where…law enforcement would have no way to find out who was behind this!
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I’d be interested in seeing someone to get one of these things to open a the door to the bank lobby.
 
ThinkingSapien said:
I’d be interested in seeing someone to get one of these things to open a the door to the bank lobby.
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Equipped with the right servos and other tools, it would be possible, but breaking the glass doors with the gun or entry thru a skylight may be easier, again though, given that is is equipped properly.

I know nothing about drones, but I do know when it comes to electronics/ robotics, anything is possible.
 
mikekle said:
Equipped with the right servos and other tools, it would be possible, but breaking the glass doors with the gun or entry thru a skylight may be easier, again though, given that is is equipped properly.

I know nothing about drones, but I do know when it comes to electronics/ robotics, anything is possible.
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I wouldn’t worry about that too much. If some one were to throw a jacket or some other article of clothing at it that’s enough to bring the drone down; assuming the the device can exert enough lateral force to open a door and clear the doorway without its propellers hitting the side.
 
ThinkingSapien said:
I wouldn’t worry about that too much. If some one were to throw a jacket or some other article of clothing at it that’s enough to bring the drone down; assuming the the device can exert enough lateral force to open a door and clear the doorway without its propellers hitting the side.
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A stick can bring one down. Banning these toys in a country that does not ban firearms is rather silly, in my opinion.
 
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