The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday questioned a proposed amendment to the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法) that would give the authority to regulate drones flying at or below 400 feet (121.92m) to local governments, saying they might not have sufficient personnel to enforce the law.
The proposed amendment is one of the changes that the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) wants to include in a chapter to regulate drones.
While unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating in no-fly or restricted zones, inside or around airports and flying above 400 feet would fall under the CAA’s governance, those flying at or below 400 feet would be regulated by local governments, which would also have the right to list which areas would be open or banned to drones, the agency said.
The proposal also calls for mandatory registrations for UAVs weighing more than 250g and operating licenses for drones equipped with a global positioning system weighing between 1kg and 25kg, the agency said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) said that drones have become a safety hazard to commercial airlines.
How could local governments, which are already struggling with personnel shortages, effectively regulate drones, including whether they are flying at or below 400 feet, he said.
“The proposed chapter would be unenforceable if the government does not straighten out these technical issues,” he said.
Independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) said that each city and county would need personnel who have undergone professional training to be able to crack down on illegal drone operations.
The government also has to monitor Internet sales of drones, which require joint supervision from the CAA, the Customs Administration and the Bureau of Foreign Trade, he said.
Drone owners should be asked to buy liability insurance to pay for damage or harm caused by their drones, Chao said.
DPP Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) asked how local governments could be trusted to regulate drones when some of them do not even have transportation departments.
CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that the agency would continue to communicate with local officials regarding the technical issues, adding that they would use the examples of Taipei and New Taipei City.
“The two cities jointly hosted the Taipei Universiade this year and employed a team that used drones equipped with cameras to conduct aerial photography,” Lin said.
“They have also drafted regulations governing the management of drones. We plan to use their regulations as examples and show them to other local governments when we meet with them,” he said.
Many of the technologies relating to drones are still developing, such as the guns that Taipei City Government used to shoot down illegal recreational drones during the Universiade, Lin said.
Whether a drone flying below 400 feet was flying illegally would have to be determined after local governments receive reports on such cases and examine all the evidence, Lin said.
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