SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Poll: Should regular citizens be allowed to fly drones?
Feb 9, 2015, 8:00 AM | Updated: 8:00 am
Should private citizens be allowed to fly drones? Apparently not everyone thinks so. Take The Ron & Don Show poll on the issue. (AP Photo/John Locher)
(AP Photo/John Locher)
As drones are being used more by military and police, they’re also finding their way into the hands of private citizens with a lot of small, affordable options on the market. But apparently not everyone is happy about this.
While a recent Reuters survey showed a majority of people are OK with police using drones, it also showed 42 percent of people don’t think regular citizens should be able to fly them.
In a conversation on KIRO Radio’s Ron & Don Show, show host Ron Upshaw told guest host Gee Scott of 710 ESPN Seattle’s The Barbershop that he’s been looking into drone ownership, and a friend of his just got one that is pretty cool.
“He can go 900 feet up and it’s got a camera on it. You’re up you’re flying around. It’s got video on there. You can chase the kids around. You can chase the dog around,” says Ron.
Personal drones outfitted with cameras have already been the subject of disputes. People out in public, say at beaches, and even people in their homes, have complained about the potential of the drones to invade privacy.
Scott understands why people think this could be a problem.
“There are a lot of good people such as yourself that would probably do the right things and have some fun with the whole drone thing,” says Scott. “It’s when it gets in the hands of the wrong person. It’s when this person is flying it over schools and looking at kids or flying it by windows looking into people’s homes.”
In terms of police using the drones, Scott says he, like many reported in the survey, has no problem with police using the technology.
“I’m good for police. That’s their job to protect and serve,” says Scott, but outside of that, “I don’t like the drones. Get rid of them.”
But the pull to try the new technology for himself is too strong for Ron.
“I think I’m going to buy one,” says Ron. “They look so fun.”
He thinks he can probably get Scott to jump on the bandwagon as well.
“If I get one, I’ll bring it in and you can use it, then you’re going to flip the script. ‘I love drones. Drones for everybody. This is the best.'”
What do you think?
