Drone Owners Register Called for by House of Lords

(Source: BBC)  

The EU is being urged to create an online register of drone owners.

The recommendation was made by the House of Lords EU Committee, which has been looking into what rules are needed to safeguard the use of unmanned aircraft.

It suggests the database would initially include businesses and other professional users, and then later expand to encompass consumers.

However, one expert questioned how useful such a register would be.

The committee’s report warned that over-regulation risked stifling the drone industry, estimating that it could be responsible for creating as many as 150,000 jobs across Europe by 2050.

Even so, it suggested that creating the database would help the authorities manage and keep track of drone traffic.

Growing numbers of drones can be bought over the internet and flown without a special licence
In addition, it made several other recommendations, including:

• Greater use of geo-fencing – programming drones not to be able to take off from or fly into certain locations based on their GPS co-ordinates. This could include airports, prisons and other high risk sites
• Clearer guidance for police about how they should enforce existing safety rules
• The use of a kite mark or other logo to denote drones that have been classed as safe to use
• More guidance to be given to commercial drone operators about what insurance cover they need to buy

“We have a huge opportunity to make Europe a world leader in drone technology,” said committee chairwoman Baroness O’Cathain.

“But there’s also a risk. It would just take one disastrous accident to destroy public confidence and set the whole industry back.

“So, we need to find ways to manage and keep track of drone traffic.

“That is why a key recommendation is that drone flights must be traceable, effectively through an online database, which the general public could access via an app.”

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