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Submission + - Remote ID for drones in effect as of 16 December 2022 (in the USA)

Submitted by NewtonsLaw
NewtonsLaw writes: Manufacturers of drones made after 16 September 2022 must, from today (16 December), ensure that those drones are "Standard Remote ID" compliant.

This means that the drones must broadcast packets of data once per second (using Bluetooth or Wifi) that contain the position speed and path of the drone, a unique identifier and the operator's position including height above ground.

The Federal Aviation Administration claims that this is something they were forced to add to the regulations by the DoD and DHS.

Already, several companies have announced their intention to build networks of receivers that will create a realtime database of all drone activity in the USA, showing the positions of the drones and their operators and flagging any non-compliant craft.

As of September 2023, all hobbyists must fit "broadcast remote ID" modules to their RC model aircraft or older drones which also make them Remote ID compliant (unless they are under 250g in mass or are flown in pre-approved areas called FRIAs).

For the record: There are (on average) around 1,000 reported injuries from recreational drone use each year in the USA, few of these actually requiring hospitalization and the death toll from the recreational use of multirotor drones remains at ZERO (in all of time and across the face of the globe).

Drone and RC model aircraft users must register with the FAA, sit (and pass) a knowledge test and soon have this Remote ID technology installed on all their craft.

By comparison, ultralight aircraft in the USA caused 268 deaths in 2021 yet these craft require no training, no registration, no license or knowledge exam and do not require any form of electronic ID.

Similarly, bicycles account for over 1,200 deaths a year and over 300,000 injuries in the USA. Likewise, bicycles can be used without any training, licensing, registration or electronic ID system

Restriction and regulation should be proportional to risk... so what is going on with drones?

And before anyone says "but drones can be used to drop bombs... just look at Ukraine" its worth noting the following:

A drone without a bomb is JUST A DRONE — but a bomb without a drone is STILL A BOMB.

If you are worried about drones dropping bombs then you don't have a drone problem you have a bomb problem and perhaps it would be more prudent to increase the control and regulation of explosives rather than to criminalize a hobby that has never produced a single death, anywhere, ever.

Comment Re:Finally (Score 1) 163

The 35 year old couple with kids, a mortgage, and credit card bills are not the same people as the 25 year olds that used to Rage Against The Machine. Indeed, they grow up and often see that the Machine is there for a reason.

Ummm, that was the Boomer's excuse, too. Not that any of them "sold out" or anything like that...
Just sayin'.

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