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Here is a template for the Ordinance to Protect your city from drones we encourage all communities to defend themselves against the imminent threat for drones in the United States. Earlier this year Congress passed a bill ordering the FAA to open up our skies to 30,000 Drones. Submit this ordinance to your City or Common Council and educate your community about the dangers of drones.
ORDINANCE of the City Of (Your City or Town)
PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC AGAINST USE OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (DRONES)
Whereas:
1. United States airspace is the busiest in the world, with up to 87,000 flights per day, including commercial airliners and freight haulers, air taxis and private and military aircraft.
2. Unmanned aerial vehicles (referred to in the remainder of this ordinance as drones) are not now allowed in United States general airspace because of the threat they present to other aircraft. Under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 the FAA is directed to create regulations that will enable drones to fly throughout US airspace by September 2015.
3. Small drones, 25 pounds or under, are now permitted to fly in general airspace below 400 feet for the use of police and first responders, with FAA permission.
4. Drones have limitations in “vision” compared to the vision of human pilots, do not have the same capability to avoid other aircraft as aircraft piloted by humans, and there has been at least one instance outside the United States of a drone collision with an aircraft with a human pilot on aboard and as well as a near miss. These instances occurred in airspace much less crowded than that of the United States.
5. Drones have at times gotten out of human control, in at least one instance having to be shot down, and drones are susceptible to having control seized electronically by unauthorized operators.
6. Drones have the capability of carrying a variety of weapons, including 12-guage shot guns, tear gas, rubber bullet guns, bombs and missiles, but drones have significant limitations in identifying specific individuals and groups.
7. Unmanned aerial vehicles have the capability to watch individuals, groups and populations on a 24-hour basis, following and recording their movements for days and weeks in an unprecedented way.
8. Unmanned aerial vehicles have the capability to continuously monitor cell-phone and text messaging of individuals, groups and populations.
9. Drones are being developed that will use computerized facial images to target individuals and, once launched, to operate, autonomously, without further human involvement, to locate and kill those individuals.
We find therefore that:
Drones present an unreasonable and unacceptable threat to public safety in the air and to persons and property on the ground in the City of (Your City or Town) due to limitations in drone “vision”, capability to avoid other aircraft and adequate control,
and
Armed drones and surveillance drones present an unreasonable and unacceptable threat to the rights of individual privacy, freedom of association and assembly, equal protection and judicial due process in the City of (Your City or Town)
Therefore:
1. Drones are hereby banned from airspace over the City of (Your City or Town), including drones in transit. Flying of a drone within the airspace of the City of (Your City or Town) shall be considered a gross misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine not to exceed $5,000. More than one offense of flying a drone within said airspace will be considered felonies, with jail time and fines based on the number of violations. (Specifics on misdemeanor and felony classifications and penalties will vary by locality.)
2. Drones will not be purchased, leased, borrowed, tested or otherwise used by any agency of the City of (Your City or Town)
2 Comments
This proposal is Wa-a-ay too restrictive.
1. I believe that all remotely-piloted vehicles (RPV), whether autonomous or under direct and complete control of a human operator MUST BE BANNED for use by all domestic governments, except over open fields without buildings or people. We have Fourth amendment rights, and a police state WILL use these technologies to observe law-abiding citizens by peering through windows, etc.
2. We must NOT ban all for the citizens, provided the following are adhered to at all times:
A: The RPV must be under control and within eyesight of a human operator at all times the device is in operation (i.e., when any propulsion method is operating, including gliding).
B. The RPV total weight, including payload, shall not exceed 25 pounds.
C. Propellers and other propulsion devices must be completely enclosed except in the plane of lift (i.e., ducted fans and jet engines must be safe if accidentally encountered by an untrained person).
D. Explosives or firearms may not be carried on any RPV under any circumstances.
E. No flight allowed above 400′ above average terrain level within 1000 meters of the RPV’s location over the earth.
F. A failsafe landing mechanism must be included in the design: In the event of loss of power, lift or control, the device should SLOWLY glide/settle (e.g., autogyro) to a benign state, where it shall remain motionless save for local wind effects.
G. The owner’s name, address and phone number must plainly appear on the RPV; any one retrieving the RPV has a legal obligation to return to owner as expeditiously as practical.
These will allow certan civilian and police uses (e.g., a hovering camera used in search and rescue operations, or a seed-casting RPV for gardening and farming) while not allowing the militarization of our civilian airspace.
Hope this generates a lot of discussion and support in your community. Good idea to make it generic, so others can use a similar approach.