Tuesday, September 6, 2016

the fuzziness of local drone rules

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/new-regulations-open-skies-to-thousands-more-drones/2292339

"Boodheshwar said he doesn't want to hinder the budding industry, and even ticked off the ways the technology could help the city: search and rescue, environmental monitoring, criminal investigations. Before the town council approved the ordinance this summer, drone takeoffs and landings were banned in the city.
'We're trying to embrace it and not push it away,' he said. 'We want to embrace it in a controlled sort of way with the powers that we have.'
St. Petersburg police Officer Robert Lord raised another point: If there is nothing on the books locally, enforcing FAA regulations is reduced to little more than an 'observe and report' role. If the city had rules that resembled the FAA's — for example, keeping a drone within your line of sight, flying slower than 100 mph — the city could have ticketing power."

This is an important point. Local laws can be even more strict than federal rules.

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