We’re going to be hearing a lot of stories about drone accidents in the next couple of years. As we discussed last week, just because you have a new drone at home doesn’t mean you should be flying it around without proper precautions. As ordinary people start to hear more about accidents involving drones, regulations will get tighter and common sense regarding associated risks will be ignored.
In news out of Belleville, ON, comes one of the first drone/vehicle accidents we’ve heard of. Nobody was injured when a drone fell out of the sky and hit the front of a moving car on Monday morning, causing $1000 of damage to the car. No charges were laid under the Highway Traffic Act, as rules are still being written to regulate the use of drones in public property.
As drones can be very tricky to fly, and they rely on wireless connections to control, Transport Canada has laid out a few guidelines for their recreational use. The authorities recommend staying at least nine kilometres away from airports, staying below 90 metres, and trying to keep 150 metres away from people and buildings. In a populated area, that last stipulation will certainly prove the most difficult.
As drones gain in popularity, we’ll surely see an upswing in accidents involving the small aircraft. The novelty of the gadgets surely adds to concerns over their potential dangers, while in reality there are certainly going to be much easier and more common ways to cause damage to property. Once regulations are sorted out, we’ll get a much better view of how the future of drones will go.
This article was originally published on MobileSyrup.