It’s a striking statistic: hundreds of thousands of drones have been sold across the UK. Yet, in my experience flying regularly, it’s fairly rare to come across another pilot when flying randomly in public spaces.
The ‘Whim’ Purchase Problem:
This disparity leads me to suspect that a significant number of drones bought, perhaps on a whim or as a novelty gift, are flown only a handful of times before being relegated to a drawer or garage, never to be seen again. They become expensive, unused gadgets.
A Call for Responsible Ownership:
If this is the case, it raises a question about responsible drone ownership and registration. While the current registration process is necessary for compliant pilots, perhaps we need a stricter point-of-sale requirement.
Suggestion for Change:
I believe you should not be able to purchase a drone in the UK without first obtaining a mandatory Operator ID. This small but important step would ensure that every drone sold is linked to a registered, accountable individual, promoting safety and discouraging impulse purchases by those who aren’t committed to following the rules.
This is somewhat correct, I suspect a large number fall victim to the rles and regs, ergo, many people just don’t understand or just can’t be bothered to get their head around them and just leave their drone collecting dust!
Also, there are loads of drones of various makes and models in the various second hand shops, which, like second hand cars accounts for quite a lot…
I don’t see the harm in impulse purchases, really.
If people don’t actually fly, they’re not logging any hours, but they’re also not really causing any problems. Likewise, having a vintage car that’s permanently garaged doesn’t attract any road tax or insurance.
The relatively big sales of companies like DJI not only reduce
the prices of their technology but also attracts other innovators into the market.
Am I missing something?
I don’t understand your assertion. What is the problem you’re alluding to?
You seem to be saying that lots of drones have been sold (where do you get your sales figures from?), but you rarely see them.
And your solution to this ‘problem’ is registration at point of sale.
I’m a bit lost. How will registration at the point of sale help you see more drones? Why is you not seeing drones a problem in the first place?
If there are many drones collecting dust, how is that a problem? How would mandatory registration at the point of sale address this ‘problem’?
FWIW mandatory point of sale registration was discussed at length at many of the meetings about registration back around 2017 or so. The problem is that many drones come directly from abroad and/or come as components or kits. Do you force everyone to register to buy electric motors? Batteries? Carbon fibre? Propellers?
Also forcing point of sale registration in the UK would disadvantage UK retailers to the advantage of foreign companies selling into the UK.