The U.S. Department of Transportation will soon require registration of all drones, including hobby models, according to various reports. The ruling is expected to come down Oct. 19 and will cover every type of unmanned aerial system. The DOT issued advance notice to major media outlets by saying it will “make an important safety announcement about the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems” according to Forbes but it didn’t provide any insight into how such a scheme is going to work. It’s also not clear if it will be retroactive to the millions of drones already buzzing around. And, of course, the logistical issues are raising some questions, especially since the FAA recently predicted that more than a million hobby drones would become Christmas gifts this year.
The daily news coverage of bad drone behavior, from alleged close encounters with aircraft to disrupting firefighting to peering in windows, is undoubtedly behind the move. Another thing that’s not clear is how this action works with the comprehensive set of rules already being formulated by the FAA.
