FAA Appeals Commercial Drone Ruling, Cites Safety Concerns

Yesterday, a National Transportation Safety Board judge ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration could not fine anybody for using small, hobby-plane-sized commercial drones use because it hadn’t made any legally binding rules against them. That went against everything the FAA had ever claimed with regard to commercial drones. So in an unsurprising move, the FAA today appealed this decision.

“The FAA is appealing the decision of an NTSB Administrative Law Judge to the full National Transportation Safety Board, which has the effect of staying the decision until the Board rules,”  the organization wrote today. ”The agency is concerned that this decision could impact the safe operation of the national airspace system and the safety of people and property on the ground.”

For the time being, then, the legal situation around drones remains as murky as ever. While it seems plenty of real estate companies are shooting photos of houses from small quadcopters and they remain in heavy use for video production and other uses, the FAA continues to argue that commercial drone usage is essentially illegal.

Because it’s perfectly okay to fly these same small drones for non-commercial reasons (though the FAA would prefer it if people at least followed a few common-sense guidelines), the FAA seems somewhat out of step with reality on this issue.

The FAA wasn’t expected to make any rules for commercial drone usage before the end of 2015. Maybe all this activity around this court case now will get it to speed up the process a bit.

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Ford highlights V2V safety tech with daredevil drivers

Ford is putting this Taurus in near-accident situations during the run of CES 2014.

(Credit:Wayne Cunningham/CNET)

LAS VEGAS -- I'm sitting in the passenger seat of a Ford Taurus as the driver accelerates toward a green light. Suddenly, a red warning light flashes on the windshield and an alert tone sounds off. The driver hits the brakes, and another car goes flying by, across our path at the intersection.

While this was a demonstration at a fake intersection, with Ford drivers piloting each car, we were traveling at speed and there was certainly the potential for a crash. It was a recreation of a real-world situation that happens everyday at intersections.

However, the reason why the Taurus was able to alert the driver with light and sound, came down to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system (V2V) installed in each car.

The V2V system includes GPS and a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) transceiver operating over the 802.11p standard. Each car was sending its GPS location out, including current path and speed, while receiving broadcasts from other cars in the vicinity.

The Taurus received the telemetry data from the car crossing our path, quickly calculated the potential for a collision, and alerted the driver to hit the brakes. Systems such as this are likely to be implemented in all cars, possibly by federal mandate, in the near future and will prevent collisions and fatalities.

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After school safety - tips and reminders

When parents send their children for after school programs, they take it

for granted that the child is safe. But since the number of children

participating in these activities has increased, it is necessary to look

into safety issues.



Children are vulnerable when they are outside the classes. While going or

returning, they should know the safest route to take. Many kids hang out

with their friends just after these classes. Find out 'danger zones' from

your neighbors and make the children aware of these.



The child has to know how to handle emergencies. It is better to discuss

various scenarios with your child. Tell her what she should do in case the

class is suddenly cancelled. Show her the first-aid kit at home and make

sure she knows whom to call in an emergency. Post any important contact

information in a place that is easily accessible to the child. If the

child will be alone at home, discuss a few unexpected things with her.

Tell her to use the safety chain ALWAYS.



Relay on your neighbors and friends when needed. Let your child know who

can be contacted at times of emergency. Ask your child to check in by

phone. Above all, always tell the child to be in a group. Visiting toilets

all alone or going home via isolated streets must be avoided.