Sobering.
So often there is an ignorance for safety.
People cite things similar to:
"There has never been a [drone] this or that so why can't I do this or that or fly here or there?"
Then that is followed up with a slew of statistics of how dangerous other [common] things or activities are. As this somehow makes OTHERS risk to injury from YOUR drone acceptable.
Those who have been around r/c aircraft prior to the Flight Controller era know the nature of the reliability and type of injuries related to the hobby/sport. Up til now you had to learn/know how to fly an r/c aircraft which took dedication, discipline, and skill and in so doing were exposed to and respected the type of failures and injuries which commonly occur.
It all comes down to probability, and though it is low, but imagine living with the thought of having injured or maimed another person with a toy flying camera.
Very well said, N017RW. I'm a RC/hobbyist and I agree about the importance of walking the whole path of the learning curve. I've seen some nasty accidents and how those led to the development of the safety rules and procedures adopted today to diminish the probabilities, as you said. I have the same view towards other things too, such as martial arts when you learn to use your powers as you acquire them VERSUS guns that give instant destruction power for example. The list goes on.
Yet, accidents still occur. I'm also an engineer/architect and regulations/safeguards are very strict in our business, for obvious reasons. Still we see many accidents, serious ones. Now, some ppl may argue (and many do) that construction is "important" for mankind, for progress or whatever, and RC or drone flying is just a hobby, an indulgence, a toy". I disagree, and bellow I try to argue my point.
When cell phones first appeared, ppl where admired, curious and afraid in about equal levels. Many believed they'd give brain cancer (some still do btw), fry eggs or cause damage by going into spontaneous combustion - and would get away and frown upon seeing those talking bricks. A few accidents did happen, but smartphones are ubiquitous. The same happened with cars, which btw still cause a great deal of damage, but can't be avoided. Trucks, trains, airplanes, even toasters! etc. And so on. Of course the argument of "society can't live without all this stuff but drones are toys..." can also be thrown here.
Fact is, the toothpaste won't go back into the tube. Simply doesn't happen.
What I am trying to say is, it's just inevitable. The reaching of critical mass will bring the increase of accidents, I agree on that one. That will bring the need for regulation, first some very strict ones to counter the issues and the "threat" and also give society and press satisfaction. Maybe ppl, animals and property will get hurt. Maybe some will go to jail, be sued. There will be fights and arguments, both for and against drones. But it won't go away, ever. Drones are here to stay, just as smartphones, cars, airplanes, Uber and many other technologies that have the exact same potential to cause good and evil. What about the internet then?? See what I mean...
Then the pendulum will swing back as it always does, and most likely everything will lean towards a more balanced status. Now everyone and his dog wants a Phantom. It will explode - and that's a clear sign of the interest that ppl have in this new technology and its potential to do good, help ppl and take society to new levels of development by increasing productivity and so on. Yes, it can and will cause hurt and grief, but I'd say drones have a huge potential of saving lives and increase safety in many ways more than otherwise, and that is what draws ppl to them. It may be conscious or intuitive but it's there.
Information will spread and increase too, of course, and that will sure help matters. At some point the interest will fade. Those who jump every bandwagon - both from the business and consumer sides - will move on to another "newness" that will surface. The press will follow, and it all becomes everyday again. Many will remain in the business, and everything will become "normal", just another gadget to charge and play or do business with. We will find a way and this moment right now is part of the process. Even the idiots flying near airports and doing stupid things with drones are important. I'm in no way vouching for them, please! I just accept they're part of the process in a way - at the very least because we may even get rid of drones but eradicating ignorance is impossible...
Maybe I'm wrong, who knows. I'm only 45 and I've seen this happening with pretty much every new tech that has appeared since I was born, which are quite a few because back in the 70's life was considerably simpler (LOL). I can totally understand society being afraid of drones now. Collectively and individually we fear that we don't totally understand, and let's be honest: a P3 is quite an engineering achievement even by nowadays' standards! Some are marveled, some are mad, some are afraid, some are indifferent... That's how it is.
Everyone knows what they are capable of because we watch them invisibly spying in detail and/or bombing terrorists in the far east all the time on TV. We also see them falling accidentally (or not) in the White House and other places too. It’s not like a P3 or Bebop will come close to anything like that (except of course crashing into backyards), but it's not hard to see that by association people will assume that drones in general are sneaky privacy invaders or flying bombs, or just potentially failure-prone devices that will at a point crash into cars, property and people, causing damage. And in part they're right, hence the need for regulations.
Everything changes. Except the fact that mankind advances through trial and error. That's a cool process if you ask me. We are in the "trying and making errors" business, strong trial phase which is also a strong learning phase now, and learning always has a price. It just can't (and won't) stop progress. Quite otherwise. For good or bad, that's the way we move on.
I for myself follow a simple rule: individually, I take every possible measure to ensure what I'm doing is safe, hope for the best, use common sense, etc. And I'm, ready to face responsibility if something happens too. Collectively, I believe we should do everything we can and keep fighting for our right to fly our P3s. That means keep flying however we can now, because neither side will learn anything if drones stay on the ground.
Sorry for the long post everyone!!
