
Woman Knocked Unconscious at Parade by Falling Drone - Doubleguitars
http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2015/06/29/woman-knocked-unconscious-at-parade-by-falling-drone/
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fpvracing
As someone who has been working with "drones" for the past few years, I am
sick to death of these people who do idiotic things like fly over a crowd of
people.

It's frustrating that when something like this happens, people tend to blame
the drone, not the pilot. When someone gets drunk and crashes their car,
nobody blames the car.

I hope they find this guy and make an example of him.

~~~
nullc
Meh. Come on. If it were just a camera on a long fiberglass poll that fell, it
wouldn't be blame anyone. It would be a _mistake_, apologies would be said,
and assuming nothing grave happened likely nothing would come of it.

The fact that it was a drone shouldn't have changed anything.

~~~
URSpider94
If the person had been waving around said pole camera in a reckless and out-
of-control manner over peoples' heads, had crashed it into someone hard enough
to knock them unconscious, then run away and left the scene without offering
an apology, the outcome would have been the same.

As I tell my 4-year-old all the time, sure, the crash itself was an accident,
but the pilot's behavior before and after the accident was not.

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CydeWeys
It's only a matter of time before unlicensed drones become banned. These
incidents are going to keep happening over and over with increasing frequency,
and then a law is going to be passed. Enjoy the wild west of drone flying
while it still lasts.

~~~
deckar01
Licenses don't stop people from being reckless, but they do help in creating a
culture of educated safety. If anything they are good for banning you from
operating the vehicle when you get caught breaking safety laws.

Sir, I'm going to need to see your drone license and registration...

~~~
colechristensen
All you have to do is make the seller of drone equipment legally liable for
any and all damages for equipment sold to unlicensed operators. Investors and
insurance companies will make sure the sellers require licensing, and the
legal liability will keep users in check.

~~~
deckar01
You don't need a license to purchase a motor vehicle. You are required by law
to have insurance and registration to operate it, both requiring proof of a
valid license. When you let your insurance or registration expire your license
can be revoked, but that doesn't mean your vehicle gets revoked. Vehicles are
property. Driving is the dangerous activity that requires licensing, not
owning property.

~~~
colechristensen
Yes, you do.

Most states require dealerships to verify insurance (and if it isn't a state
law it's usually dealership policy) before letting you drive a car off their
lot – having insurance requires a license.

If the transaction isn't happening with a dealer you likewise still need a
drivers' license to register the vehicle, and registration itself is a legal
requirement.

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hellbanner
Terrible eye-witness account:

"Witnesses described him as an unshaven white male in his 20s, wearing a
baseball cap, sunglasses, cut off shorts. He also reportedly had a *
noticeable tattoo of a woman somewhere on his body *."

emphasis mine. If it was noticeable, at least they'd say which part of his
body!

~~~
anigbrowl
Probably means conflicting descriptions from witnesses. If he was seated and
then left in a hurry it would also be easy for people to be confused about
whether the tattoo was on his arm or leg.

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mfkp
For more examples of people who should not be piloting drones:
[http://faildrone.com/](http://faildrone.com/)

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kenrikm
This is clearly the operators fault you're not supposed to fly over people,
period. The majority of incidents of this type involve consumer level drones
(DJI Phantoms are over represented with stupid people doing stupid things)
Once you're in the DIY hobbyist space people tend to be much more safe about
the way they operate their drones since if you are the type that will spend
time to learn how to build a multi-rotor then you'll be more likely take the
time to learn to operate it safely.

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mc32
So how do we enforce licensing and how will ownership be tracked? Is it done
at point of sale? And the tracking of ownership, via signal, of via
registration?

And will liability insurance be required to fly over populated areas?

Eventually it will come to this, once the odds, caused by prevalence, point to
the liabilities.

Flying airplanes, back at the birth of aviation, also didn't require
licensing... Till too many barnstormers caused injury.

Perhaps also weight, range, as well as blade type can be considered with the
requirements.

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hippich
Just FYI - if you are into quads (or anything flying) or plan to - read short
list of things you should not do -
[https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/](https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/)

(tl;dr; what happened in this news article is prohibited by existing law)

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jakejake
If my friend got knocked out by a drone and the dude came up to claim it, I
would tell him as soon as the police get there he can claim it from them. I
sure wouldn't hand it over "here's your drone back, sir!"

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saosebastiao
now imagine it was this one:
[http://i.imgur.com/Feek05g.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/Feek05g.jpg)

Would she still have a head?

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ShMcK
Adding new meaning to the term "Attack Drone".

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jimjimjim
When did the name switch to 'drone'. Was it privacy scaremongering post
iraq/afghanistan that made the term enter public usage? Before that they might
have called a remote controlled model helicopter, an rc plane, a quad copter
or possibly even a uav

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keyle
That last paragraph goes to show that regulations will be in place sooner than
later. And of course, in Australia, there will be a yearly license and a
fee... cause you know.

It's pretty sad that the owner of the $1200 flying machine is depicted as the
perpetrator of a planned crime.

~~~
ohfuckoff
> It's pretty sad that the owner of the $1200 flying machine is depicted as
> the perpetrator of a planned crime.

No, he's depicted, accurlate, as the perpetrator of a crime. That crime was
running after the accident.

This guy gives responsible drone owners a real problem.

If I crash my drone into something, I expect to be responsible for it. My
homeowner's insurance includes coverage for injuries caused by my drone; a
fact I verified specifically because I am responsible.

This guy just took off and ran. That's weak; criminally weak.

~~~
baddox
It's not clear that he ran. Given that he clearly did not have control over
the aircraft, it might have been well out of view.

~~~
alienasa
Usually when you lose sight of a $1200 piece of technology, you go find it,
and then attempt to recover it.

~~~
joshrotenberg
And then if you see it caused an injury and/or damage, you take responsibility
and cooperate.

