Drone Registration can be a controversial subject
Safe and legal use of drones in the UK is at the core of Drone Safe Register, so we support every reasonable step towards this.
Drone registration can be a controversial subject, but if managed properly it will help raise safety standards and educate hobbyists.
The fact that someone with no technical knowledge of drones and no understanding of the basics of safe and legal flying can walk into a shop and buy one concerns us. Our members operate to strict health and safety standards and work with the relevant authorities to ensure public safety. A new drone owner can un-box a drone and fly it without any technical know-how or understanding of the law. Many accidents involving drones are down to human error on first flights where the owner doesn’t know how to control an aircraft, understand basic functions and warnings or know what to do in the event of a problem.
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Drone registration and education for owners is of course a good thing. Unfortunately the exercise to implement this in the UK seems to have generated confusion and concerns within the drone industry.
At a time when we are looking to become world leaders in the development and use of drone technology there is a risk the UK will stall. For four years Drone Safe Register have worked hard to develop and support a national network of safe and legal commercial drone pilots and to work across industries to promote use. The current state of the UK drone registration project means we are monitoring the situation carefully and influencing policy where we can.
The public and law enforcement agencies in the UK are just beginning to understand drone regulations, so changes could set the industry back. The announcement of CAP1775, the CAA’s consultation of the Drone Registration and Education Scheme (DRES), caused many people concern. The CAA received over 10,000 responses, the biggest reaction they had ever seen.
The launch for UK drone registration was initially planned for the 1st of October. The Secretary of State is apparently deliberating the matter, and this could be a good thing if points raised by the BMFA and others are being considered. For now then, it’s ‘business as usual.’
Drone Safe Register will continue to monitor the situation carefully and seek to protect the drone industry and our members’ interests.
