Recently, there has been a steady increase in the use of unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs), also known as unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). The list of their uses is extensive, and includes recreational, video surveillance, boarder patrol, wildlife protection, disaster response, and to assist with search and rescue. Because of this, lawmakers are constantly debating what type of laws should be in place against these UAVs for both the public and for government agencies.

Unmanned aircraft vehicles have been around for roughly two centuries.  In 1839, Austrian soldiers used unmanned balloons filled with explosives to attach Venice. As you can probably expect, it didn’t go overly well for the Austrians, as many blew back to them instead to Venice, so that tactic didn’t stick around too long. Fast forward to 1916 when Great Britain created the first pilotless winged aircraft, the Ruston Proctor Aerial Target.

During World War II, drone technology advances drastically thanks to the amount of funding that went into the war. However, they still were not fully trusted and were seen as overly expensive. During the Cold War, the US and the USSR used some form of unmanned aircraft vehicle surveillance to spy on each other. Then in 1982, using unmanned aircraft vehicles for military purposes really took a turn, when Israel flew UAVs with their armed aircrafts to totally wipe out Syrian forces by using them to both scout enemy territory and act as decoys that wouldn’t cost human lives.

Many point to 2006 as the year that began non-military use of drones. This was the same year that the FAA – the Federal Aviation Administration – released the first commercial drone permits. The drones were largely used to aid in natural disasters and wildlife surveillance, search and rescue missions, border security, and by companies and corporations for various uses. However, with that increase use came an increase of fear and mistrust of these UAVs by the public and government alike, sparking a push for policies and procedures regarding the unmanned aircraft vehicles.

(For more information about the history of drones, visit this website. They were my source for the information above.)

In 2017, eighteen states passed at least twenty four laws regarding UAVs (the list of states can be found here). Last year, Alaska, North Dakota, and Utah also passed their own laws and regulations. All three of those states’ regulations are regarding specifically government agencies’ use and development of unmanned aircraft vehicles, not for/against public recreational use.

Some of the states regulations are rather intriguing. For example, Montana passed a resolution that allows a maximum of $348,000 to be spent on unmanned aircraft systems that monitor both climate and moose population changes. Indiana created many new criminal offenses. These include a sex offender offense, when a person uses an unmanned aircraft vehicle to follow, stalk, etc. a person(s), and public safety offense, when the user intentionally obstructs an official of any type to be doing their job. Oregon prohibited weaponizing UAVs (I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty smart idea to me) and South Dakota prohibited unmanned aircraft vehicles that weigh over fifty five pounds. Finally, in Texas, the public cannot use unmanned aircraft systems to take pictures at all, but they allow insurance companies that are registered with the FAA to take photos for insurance purposes. Police, on the other hand, can take pictures for boarder security, as long as what is being photographed is within 25 miles of the boarder.

Speaking of the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration has made extensive attempts to regulate the use of unmanned aircraft vehicles for both recreational use and non-recreational use. In 2016, they came out with a list of requirements for small unmanned aircraft vehicles: They cannot be larger than fifty five pounds; they must remain in sight of the person operating them at all times; they can’t be used up thirty minutes after sunrise and thirty minutes or less before sunset to limit risk of collision and/or injury and/or damage; unmanned aircraft systems can’t be flown over 100 miles per hour;  there must be at least three miles of weather visibility; a person flying must either have a pilot certificate or be with someone who does; the government can take and evaluate any unmanned aircraft vehicle at any time; pilots must be at least sixteen years old; the unmanned aircraft vehicle can not be flown recklessly or pose any threat to the safety of the surrounding public. If you are curious, the full 2016 summary can be found here.

Although state and federal governments are passing many regulations upon unmanned aircraft systems, there are many people who would like to see them be used to their full potential. The National Police Foundation, for example, is striving to help law enforcement uses UAVs successfully (and more often), while regaining the trust of the public. DSLR Pros focus on making safe and reliable drones for companies and the government to use for search and rescue missions. Air Shepherd and Save the Rhino are both using drones to effectively track poachers and stop illegal hunting of animals.

It is obvious that UAV technology is not going anywhere any time soon, and I really feel that UAVs have many benefits that need to be explored and enabled…as long as people go through the proper legal channels. It will be very interesting to witness the constant debate over public and private safety and the benefits of UAVs.

To learn more visit:

https://www.powerdms.com/blog/law-enforcement-drone-policy/

https://www.dhs.gov/uas-law-enforcement

Important sources:

http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/current-unmanned-aircraft-state-law-landscape.aspx

https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf