The Know Before You Fly safety campaign announced today that they have reached more than 500,000 unique since the launching the educational program in December 2014.
“The robust traffic to the Know Before You Fly website is evidence that the safety campaign is potentially reaching the majority of people flying or interested in flying UAS,” says the campaign’s press release.
The educational safety campaign was started by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles International (AUVSI) and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) in partnership with the FAA. The partnership offers a reasonable solution to concerns over drone safety; AUVSI and the AMA support the concept of a focus on education and responsible operation rather than enforcement or heavy regulations to ensure safe drone integration. Drone industry advocacy groups have argued that keeping more commercial and licensed operators from flying contributes to safety problems, as a large number of professional operators aware of current regulations would act as a powerful force in encouraging compliance.
The graph to the right provided by Know Before You Fly shows the monthly visitors to their website; predictably, spikes occurred over the holidays and upon the announcement of the drone registration program.
The campaign has leveraged stakeholders in the drone industry to drive their efforts at education. Amazon, DJI, Horizon and Walmart are among the partners who have agreed to include drone operation information on their websites or with their products. A vocal proponent of allowing manufacturers and industry to drive safety efforts, leading drone manufacturer DJI distributes safety information inside the packaging of all U.S.-bound Phantom 3 and Inspire 1 products. Amazon’s Fly Responsibly Drone Store links directly to Know Before You Fly’s materials; Walmart promotes the link inside the stores on drone shelves and includes it on receipts for drone purchases.
You can find more information about the program at KnowBeforeYouFly.org or by following @FlyResponsibly on Twitter.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
TWITTER:@spaldingbarker
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