26/07/2017
Owners of drones weighing 250 grams or more will have to register details of their crafts, while drone ‘pilots’ will have to sit tests that show they understand UK safety, privacy and security laws, under key measures in new legislation designed to improve accountability in the fast-growing drones market.
The two measures headed a list of proposals set out earlier this year in a consultation on a ‘New Regulatory Regime for Drones’. (reference, current page 121, CPA News)
In addition to setting out the results of the consultation and the registration scheme and mandatory competency tests they helped to inform, ‘Benefits of drones to the UK economy’ explains that the government will
- bring forward and expand the use of ‘geo-fencing’. This works on GPS co-ordinates and is built into the drone to stop it from entering sensitive zones, such as prison or airport space
- bring forward the creation of an authoritative source of UK airspace data to facilitate geo-fencing
- explore further measures such as increasing penalties, creating new offences and reviewing the powers available to law enforcement agencies to enforce relevant law
It is projected that the market for emerging drone technology will be worth £102bn by 2025. Drones are already of substantial benefit to business, the emergency services and members of the public who use them for fun. They also represent a significant business opportunity for the UK.
‘Drones and manned aircraft collisions: test results’ emphasises that the safety of the public and manned aviation are nevertheless the most important considerations for the future. It reports on work to improve understanding of the effects of collisions between drones and manned aircraft.