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Whenever I encounter people flying drones - for example at the park - I find it highly obnoxious. The buzzing of their rotors is noise pollution that ruins the

Whenever I encounter people flying drones - for example at the park - I find it highly obnoxious. The buzzing of their rotors is noise pollution that ruins the peace of a park/natural area, and while I recognize the right to record in public spaces, there’s something especially creepy about a drone flying along a jogging path near you armed with the latest 4K cameras. I think drone enthusiasts don’t understand how that can impact women especially. I also think it would be incredibly annoying to have drones constantly in the sky above you if our current volume of deliveries is moved from ground to air. I hope both are heavily regulated and curbed.

post_break 6y ago
Honestly this just sounds like NIMBY. First there are loud drones and quiet drones, noise pollution can be regulated. Next the video from a drone for spying on a woman jogging is nothing compared to someone with a decent DSLR with a telephoto that makes zero noise. And third drone deliveries could have airspace carved out that avoids residential or places that would annoy people. Now that said some people are obnoxious with it, they fly by people, make noise, I agree that should met with criticism, maybe fines, but I also believe drones will have a big impact in quality of life not just from delivery bots but police, medical, and including hobbyists.
- downut 6y ago
  I had a neighbor hover a large, very noisy drone over my wife who was working in her backyard garden, out of sight from said neighbors, who were piloting from the house across from me. She was terrified. There easily could have been a large escalation. After my intervention it hasn't happened again, but the sort of judgement that leads to the stupidity in the first place, in my experience, cannot resist the lure to offend again, especially if the bad judger has been drinking. I read the blithe attitude in comments like these, and I am sure there will be large escalations in the future. FWIW, in AZ, this behaviour appears to be legal.
  - post_break 6y ago
    Out of line of sight sounds illegal from looking at the FAA. Flying over people is currently illegal too. Flying while drinking is also illegal... Report them to the FAA.
- thatguy0900 6y ago
  The idea of police drones flying around is honestly even worse
  - post_break 6y ago
    Tons of police have drones for video, rescue, etc. Some of them are huge: https://www.dji.com/matrice-300?site=enterprise&from=nav https://www.dji.com/matrice-300?site=enterprise&from=nav
  - throwawaysea 6y ago
    Personally I am less worried about police use of drones because their use is presumably helping deter crime and catch suspects who have committed a crime. With the right regulations and controls, I feel less violated from a privacy perspective than from random individuals using airspace for greater reach of their cameras - especially when they do things like hover over your private hedged backyard.
ericmcer 6y ago
Agreed, I think personal freedom is great, but it should be closely tied to how much your actions limit the freedoms of others. One persons right to fly a noisy helicopter around using a smartphone is not worth 20+ peoples right to read, walk and enjoy nature. I find a loud buzzing totally pulls me out of any reverie and makes me angry. I was watching the birds last week near a drone also and they were rerouting or turning away from the area it was flying in. Totally not worth it to disturb people, and even worse, what little wildlife still remains in the open space we have pushed them into.
Sodman 6y ago
As long as there are no rules against a Harley Davidson which can be heard by anyone within a mile radius cruising down the street at 10pm (same goes for loud muscle cars, trucks etc), it seems like we shouldn't go arbitrarily restricting drone noise. With regards to cameras in public places, I'd be far more worried about somebody hiding in the bushes quietly with a DSLR that nobody knows about. At least with a drone you're very aware that it's there. If you want to change the laws about taking pictures in public places - fine (and good luck!) but again, singling out drones doesn't make much sense here.
- augustt 6y ago
  It is already illegal to modify the exhaust to make your vehicle louder. Does't seem to bother cops though.
  - stevehawk 6y ago
    illegal where? that's not the case anywhere in the US that I'm aware. Most any legislation about exists is limiting modification to environmental parts like catalytic converters.
    - augustt 6y ago
      NY, probably every state.
    - lb504 6y ago
      Here is a handy link of all 50 state's noise regulations for motorcycles. Not every state has one, but many of the larger ones do. Also, many modified motorcycle exhaust systems will not have a catalytic converter in order to save on weight, this is especially true for sport bikes. https://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/motorcycle-noise-limits/ https://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/motorcycle-noise-limits/
      - stevehawk 6y ago
        TIL. Thank you.

post_break 6y ago

Honestly this just sounds like NIMBY. First there are loud drones and quiet drones, noise pollution can be regulated. Next the video from a drone for spying on a woman jogging is nothing compared to someone with a decent DSLR with a telephoto that makes zero noise. And third drone deliveries could have airspace carved out that avoids residential or places that would annoy people. Now that said some people are obnoxious with it, they fly by people, make noise, I agree that should met with criticism, maybe fines, but I also believe drones will have a big impact in quality of life not just from delivery bots but police, medical, and including hobbyists.

downut 6y ago
I had a neighbor hover a large, very noisy drone over my wife who was working in her backyard garden, out of sight from said neighbors, who were piloting from the house across from me. She was terrified. There easily could have been a large escalation. After my intervention it hasn't happened again, but the sort of judgement that leads to the stupidity in the first place, in my experience, cannot resist the lure to offend again, especially if the bad judger has been drinking. I read the blithe attitude in comments like these, and I am sure there will be large escalations in the future. FWIW, in AZ, this behaviour appears to be legal.
- post_break 6y ago
  Out of line of sight sounds illegal from looking at the FAA. Flying over people is currently illegal too. Flying while drinking is also illegal... Report them to the FAA.
thatguy0900 6y ago
The idea of police drones flying around is honestly even worse
- post_break 6y ago
  Tons of police have drones for video, rescue, etc. Some of them are huge: https://www.dji.com/matrice-300?site=enterprise&from=nav https://www.dji.com/matrice-300?site=enterprise&from=nav
- throwawaysea 6y ago
  Personally I am less worried about police use of drones because their use is presumably helping deter crime and catch suspects who have committed a crime. With the right regulations and controls, I feel less violated from a privacy perspective than from random individuals using airspace for greater reach of their cameras - especially when they do things like hover over your private hedged backyard.

ericmcer 6y ago

Agreed, I think personal freedom is great, but it should be closely tied to how much your actions limit the freedoms of others. One persons right to fly a noisy helicopter around using a smartphone is not worth 20+ peoples right to read, walk and enjoy nature. I find a loud buzzing totally pulls me out of any reverie and makes me angry. I was watching the birds last week near a drone also and they were rerouting or turning away from the area it was flying in. Totally not worth it to disturb people, and even worse, what little wildlife still remains in the open space we have pushed them into.

Sodman 6y ago

As long as there are no rules against a Harley Davidson which can be heard by anyone within a mile radius cruising down the street at 10pm (same goes for loud muscle cars, trucks etc), it seems like we shouldn't go arbitrarily restricting drone noise. With regards to cameras in public places, I'd be far more worried about somebody hiding in the bushes quietly with a DSLR that nobody knows about. At least with a drone you're very aware that it's there. If you want to change the laws about taking pictures in public places - fine (and good luck!) but again, singling out drones doesn't make much sense here.

augustt 6y ago
It is already illegal to modify the exhaust to make your vehicle louder. Does't seem to bother cops though.
- stevehawk 6y ago
  illegal where? that's not the case anywhere in the US that I'm aware. Most any legislation about exists is limiting modification to environmental parts like catalytic converters.
  - augustt 6y ago
    NY, probably every state.
  - lb504 6y ago
    Here is a handy link of all 50 state's noise regulations for motorcycles. Not every state has one, but many of the larger ones do. Also, many modified motorcycle exhaust systems will not have a catalytic converter in order to save on weight, this is especially true for sport bikes. https://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/motorcycle-noise-limits/ https://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/motorcycle-noise-limits/
    - stevehawk 6y ago
      TIL. Thank you.