Penalty for Not Registering Your Drone

[JAW]

More than 342,000 people have already registered. Failure to register with the FAA could result in one or a combination of the following: a civil penalty of up to $27,500; a criminal fine of up to $250,000; imprisonment for up to three years.

The FAA Reminds You to Register Your Drone

www.faa.gov

 

[sadatoni]

Seems unconstitutional (see the Eight Amendment about excessive fines).

 

[AMann]

Seems unconstitutional (see the Eight Amendment about excessive fines).

Its probably based on the level of risk and potential damage drones can cause- they don’t want people to mess around with them, and to take drones more seriously as they are a bit more than mere toys.

 

[pjarvo18]

$250k seems like a large fine, but realistically isn’t that high compared to a lot of fines you could get in various industries. I work in financial institutions and insurance and could be fined a lot more than that for not doing my job correctly. Also, nothing I do can cause personal or property damages that could add up real fast. I would suggest that imprisonment is cruel and unusual punishment for not registering, but the fines arent that bad. Just reading the possibilities makes me glad I paid the $5 to register mine.

 

[kensteele]

well, we probably have a million or more unindicted criminals running around out there because of this. nothing like a new government law you can pass overnight and instantly make thousands of criminals out of honest citizens. imagine the fees the government could collect if they spend a week tracking down all the scofflaws. it's a silly law because they are doing nothing meaningful to enforce it with tells me it's purpose is questionable.

 

[johnmeyer]

Back in the 1970s, another craze called "CB Radio" swept the country, and a few million people bought a CB radio and put it in their car. Technically, they were supposed to get a $20 (later $4) license.

No one got the license.

To the point of this thread, you could be fined $10,000 (or more) if you operated without a license.

Pretty much no one was ever caught or fined.

 

[Deleted member 93449]

Its probably based on the level of risk and potential damage drones can cause- they don’t want people to mess around with them, and to take drones more seriously as they are a bit more than mere toys.

Registering a drone doesn't diminish the risk. Beyond that the risk of a drone strike based on prior history is miniscule. The $250K fine is ridiculous. If there is to be a fine make it the value of the drone.

 

[AMann]

Back in the 1970s, another craze called "CB Radio" swept the country, and a few million people bought a CB radio and put it in their car. Technically, they were supposed to get a $20 (later $4) license.

No one got the license.

To the point of this thread, you could be fined $10,000 (or more) if you operated without a license.

Pretty much no one was ever caught or fined.

Nether ‘Rubber Ducky’ nor ‘Suitcase Walkie’ ever hurt anyone just playing around on their CB radios, even when ‘Suitcase Walkie’ got a linear and started ordering a bunch of extra hamburgers and drinks by cutting in whenever someone tried ordering over the Jack in the Box drive through intercom.

 

[AMann]

Registering a drone doesn't diminish the risk. Beyond that the risk of a drone strike based on prior history is miniscule. The $250K fine is ridiculous. If there is to be a fine make it the value of the drone.

Drones don’t have to be weapons to cause economic damage, look at the havoc they can cause just by being present at an airport. Having a license requirement and accountability may make some think twice prior to doing something really dumb. I know it doesn't cover bad guys, but will help keep more honest people serious about it. And if they are more trackable, stolen rogue drones may guide authorities more easily to the RP’s.

 

[Meta4]

Despite the high maximum fine, very few people have been fined at all for not registering.

 

[johnmeyer]

My point wasn't whether CB radio was more or less of a hazard to the public good, but rather than fine for failing to get a $40 license are almost never levied.

But, since the subject came up, CB radios were actually a bigger hazard than drones. Why? Because they were used to subvert law enforcement. Pretty much everyone kept tuned to channel 19 to find out where the "smokies" were. Also, CB radio was used by a hundred times more people than drones, so any infraction had the potential to affect far more people.

Also, many people massively increased the power output of their radios (totally illegal) and the signal could stretch all the way into other countries. This really ruined the use of that channel for people within hundreds of miles of the illegal operator. Since CB radio was also used to call for help in emergencies, this unlicensed behavior very definitely hindered the ability to help people in need.

I still have my CB radio. I should turn it on and see what's going on ...

 

[tcope]

Drones don’t have to be weapons to cause economic damage, look at the havoc they can cause just by being present at an airport. Having a license requirement and accountability may make some think twice prior to doing something really dumb.

We can easily test your theory. Have the number of illegal drone flights gone down proportionally after the registration?

I'd venture to say not. Let alone the drone registry has _never_ been used to match a drone to an illegal flight.

The FAA is a little like the TSA.... except the TSA has _some_ value.

 

[AMann]

We can easily test your theory. Have the number of illegal drone flights gone down proportionally after the registration?

I'd venture to say not. Let alone the drone registry has _never_ been used to match a drone to an illegal flight.

The FAA is a little like the TSA.... except the TSA has _some_ value.

Lets test it properly, illegal drone flights of registered drones vs unregistered drones.

And

Are you really sure that the drone registry has never been used to find the owner of a recovered drone that flew illegally? How so?

 

[tcope]

Lets test it properly, illegal drone flights of registered drones vs unregistered drones.

That would not be a correct test. It's two different variables. To see if the registration helped control people, you only need to compare before and after.

Are you really sure that the drone registry has never been used to find the owner of a recovered drone that flew illegally? How so?

It is old news. It is per the FAA themselves.

 

[kensteele]

the sole and only useful purpose of the drone registration process is to ensure a swift and complete confiscation effort when the time comes.

when the government get tired of non-commercial drones, they will order everyone on record to either turn in a drone or a full account of the whereabouts of the drone. failure to do either to their satisfaction will lead to a warrant for your arrest and/or felony charges.

 

[tcope]

the sole and only useful purpose of the drone registration process is to ensure a swift and complete confiscation effort when the time comes.

There is 0% accountability when it comes to drone registration. So that is not possible. No one even ever mentions a drone when registering. A person who does not own a drone can register. A person is not required to change any information if they get rid of a drone. In the same light, I can enter 100% false information in the registration.

 

[kensteele]

There is 0% accountability when it comes to drone registration. So that is not possible. No one even ever mentions a drone when registering. A person who does not own a drone can register. A person is not required to change any information if they get rid of a drone. In the same light, I can enter 100% false information in the registration.

exactly why it will be so ineffective and a waste of time. yet the citizens will have to pay that price when the time comes. for the very reason you mentioned, the registration process should be shut down.

no registration scheme in america is accurate. but it doesn't stop the government for relying on it. they just do the best they can. you get that drone confiscation notice and the threat of charges, means a lot of innocent people are going to be in trouble. exactly why i oppose drone registration.

same thing is probably going to happen with testing.

 

[Meta4]

the sole and only useful purpose of the drone registration process is to ensure a swift and complete confiscation effort when the time comes.
when the government get tired of non-commercial drones, they will order everyone on record to either turn in a drone or a full account of the whereabouts of the drone. failure to do either to their satisfaction will lead to a warrant for your arrest and/or felony charges.

Of course .. that's the way the government works with every other compulsory registration system.
Like the way every dog owner had to hand in their dog or car owners now without their cars.

The problem with that reasoning is you haven't come up with a likely reason for the government to decide that everyone should hand in their drones.
And you would have trouble with that because there is none.
Really .. you sound like you believe you live somewhere like North Korea rather than the land of the free.

 

[kensteele]

Of course .. that's the way the government works with every other compulsory registration system.
Like the way every dog owner had to hand in their dog or car owners now without their cars.

The problem with that reasoning is you haven't come up with a likely reason for the government to decide that everyone should hand in their drones.
And you would have trouble with that because there is none.
Really .. you sound like you believe you live somewhere like North Korea rather than the land of the free.

today there is no reason for the government to tell everyone to hand in their drones. i would like to put into place a system that will prevent them from compelling everyone to turn in their drones in the future. if you think it won't ever happen, then you have no problem joining with me to squash any process in place today that will enable confiscation. history is full of examples of how registration = confiscation; will you join me in pushing back on the registration process? unless you can think of another important reason why we need registration, it has got to go; mainly because it will only work against the honest, law-abiding citizen. nothing about registration help you and i, we get nothing from it. only possible future grief.

i can agree to an faa rule that says "the government is prohibited from issuing a confiscation order to individuals within the drone registration database...." since flying a drone is not a right, i guess i can live with that.

let me know when you want to hear my top 5 reasons that might trigger confiscation sometime in the future.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

More than 342,000 people have already registered. Failure to register with the FAA could result in one or a combination of the following: a civil penalty of up to $27,500; a criminal fine of up to $250,000; imprisonment for up to three years.

Doesn't matter how you slice it, this is excessive. FAA will get spanked the 1st time this goes to court, especially if it's little Billy in a suburban neighborhood.

The penalty for not having car insurance, a driver license, even a DUI (Or all 3 combined) is far less a penalty then that; automobiles are far more lethal, the heck are they thinking.

This reads like reactionary legislation to the "Heathrow UAS" incident. Have to love our government, always reacting to things based on peoples feelings instead of hard data.