tv NBC10 Issue NBC November 29, 2015 11:30am-12:01pm EST
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marked on every drone and an education component adds part of the region strags. the faa already has a program. sergeant runs the police department's drones for investigation and crowd control. he got his pilot's license and registered his drone. i asked him if a drone isn't really a good gift. >> like a teenager getting a car
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for their sweet 16. they all come with cautions and limitations. >> he says drones are fun and useful in responsible hands but have you to get some training, keep them relatively low, always in sight, out of people's windows and nowhere near airports. they are worried about people flying drones around them. learn how to fly one responsibly. a long story short f you're buying a drone for yourself or somebody else this holiday season, you better know what you're doing because you're not just buying a toy. you're buying a pretty good sized set of responsibility. tim furlong, nbc10 news. joining me is executive director of center for technology, innovation and competition at pennsylvania law school and max tubman, director of a company that specializes in drone cinematography. thank you for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> jeff, let's talk about these
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faa potential regulations because right now it's just a recommendation from the task force. >> that's right. for the longest time, the technology we now refer to as drones, and there are a number of different devices we talk to when we talk about drones, has been regulated in the noncommercial space by the faa as if they were hobbyist aircraft. now, if you remember going back to the '60s and '70s, you see hobeyists with expensive, very hard to fly aircraft. because of their difficulty -- difficulty in operation as well as the expense, the hobbyists would put in quite a bit of time and effort in learning how to fly these. they weren't very common. now we have these drones which everyone can fly with an app on the iphone because of the technology that goes into that and proliferation of this technology, the faa is starting to pay attention to whether or
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not these are actually something that need to be regulated in the public space and has to worry about -- the faa has to worry about deaconflicting the air space. >> max, you know about this with someone who works with drones in a commercial capacity. >> i learned as a kid flying rc aircraft, you couldn't get a few feet off the ground without crashing if you didn't know what you were doing. you go to a flying field and someone teaches you. people are in congested areas and you that's what you learn for a long, long time. because drones now are so easy to use, you can go get one out of the box and be flying thousands of feet in the air, looking at a camera feed.
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if you don't have the -- it's kind of hard to know all the rules at first but it is still a pilot's responsibility to learn what you can and can't do, ama, some other big manufacturers have come out with websites that will help educate people. i see both sides of the argument for registration. if you register the aircraft, it kind of brings home the fact that this is a real responsibility. >> people actually going to do this and register. i think part of what it seems is the pushback on the consumer side is that these drones weigh, what -- they're very little. they also have to be registered. people think of them as toys. >> any drone half a pound or over, which is very small, will have to register with the faa.
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they're recommending an education program so users know they can't fly the drones around the airport, over 500 feet. there are a number of other, what may be considered common sense rules by pilots, when a 12-year-old gets this under the tree at christmas, they're probably not thinking what are all the aviation rules i need to pay attention to. it's in a congested area, such as southeast pennsylvania, many of us are within five miles of an airfield. not everyone who will get these as a gifts will not know they can't fly this without permission from the airport. the reason for this registration is to make sure people do understand there's a responsibility and some accountability that goes along with this toy. >> let's drill down on that. the reason why there is this responsibility and accountability is because these things can be dangerous. in fact, we've talked to pilots
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who fly commercially, fly airplanes. they say it's not a question if a drone is going to hit an airplane. it's when it will be done. i've heard people describe these although times being flying lawn mothers. >> the registration is really geared more toward the hobbyists. when you're flying at a certain level, you have to know what you're doing or you're going to hurt someone bad. i fly under a 333 exxemption, al our aircraft are geared. so this is geared toward the new proposed regulations, hobbyists who may not know all the rules. they are releasing maps to show where airports are or national parks or restricted areas.
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to your point about whether people do it or not is a very good point. a lot of consumer drones have gps units in them, so there is talk about manufacturers implementing geofencing, so the drones wouldn't be allowed to fly near airports. i think a combination of that technology and public education is going to be the key because if you're relying on one or the other, it's not going to work. but if you have a multi-pronged approach, it's more realistic you can make people register. and also avoid airports or -- right now they're banned at all national parks as well. there are certain areas, the white house, for example. and the ama rules now say you can't go above 400 feet. this has been dais-- the ama ru have been in force for a long time now. especially out west with fire fighting, helicopters or rescue helicopters or police helicopters, and i'm a pilot as
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well, so i have that perspective f you're flying an aircraft, you already have a lot to worry about. if you are looking for all the other obstacles, weather, whatnot, the last thing you need to worry about is a tiny flying drone. to put things in perspective, i think there's 14,000 bird strikes every year and there hasn't been any drone strikes. this is something we have to get ahead of the issue, but it's important to kind of keep that in perspective as well. >> this is a problem the law has going back to the telephones or railroads. any new technology will have unexpected use cases, unexpected consequences that even the inventors of the technology did not expect. so, if you look at the history of tort law in the united states, much of what we consider modern tort law began with the
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railroads. a number of use cases, and some of the more famous cases that we see in law school happen to be about railroad's. >> there's all kinds of -- you know, it's interesting. erie and for various reasons they come up and i remember thinking when i was in law skooshl school, why are there so many railroad cases? because it's so formative and important to our society. it's a component of making sure we can live amongst one another. we can -- you know, in regulating our behavior, the law has to catch up with the technology. and the technology is moving much faster than it ever did. and the law is, frankly, having a hard time keeping up. >> the next step of this is law enforcement. how will the faa be able to
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enforce these regulations once they go into effected? >> that's a great question. the regulations that are proposed are directed at noncommercial, recreational uses of these device. commercial users already follow laws with respect to the commercial use. google and amazon have a vested interest in this. they're talking about delivery, using drones as delivery devices. they're running into some problems with laws at the state level, which we haven't talked about yet. that's probably where the larger morace and large quilt of drones. 20 states have drone laws on the books. some are general. some are very specific to use cases but they vary from state to state. so, it's very difficult for commercial users to understand what are the liabilities, what are the laws in place at each
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welcome back. as we continue our discussion of recreational drones, they've become a very hot topic as a lot of people may receive them as gifts this holiday season. it could mean a lot of competition for precious air space. with me this this morning is jeff and max. let's talk about liability and the issues that come along with having a drone and using one. >> many of the issues are common sense issues because they are
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rooted in the tort laws that we have. that have been around actually since medieval time. they are civil wrongs. if i have harmed you or caused a lot to you, i owe you some recompensation. these are very old laws and they still apply to drones today. we have torts such as trespass. that still applies. if you intentionally send your drone on to somebody else's property, you may very well be able to be sued or liable for trespa trespass. similarly if you are negligent in the use of your drone, you are flying it in places that you shouldn't, there may be tort liability there as well. in addition, there are privacy torts and some specific state laws with respect to privacy and the technology, the camera technology on these drones has gotten so good that it is -- it is very easy to run afoul of
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some of these privacy regulations that we have today. there was a famous case in 1946 that overturned the old rule saying you owned all the property above your property. now they're starting to rethink, you know, is that -- is that necessarily true? do you own some of the air space above your property? similarly we are thinking about confess of, let's say the drone is not press patrespassing but camera is so good it can look through your bedroom window. there's some privacy violation. does that run afoul of tort law? does that run afoul of one of these patch work state laws that are out there right now? these are questions we have not fully dealt with and we will be soon. >> max, in terms of the skurnlgs a lot of basic questions. of course, there are these issues, legal issues that come with it, and also just basic questions of what kind of drone
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should i be looking for if i am going to buy one. if you do receive one, then what? >> there are so many different options out there. a lot of resources online. multiorder forms is one that's a very community-based organization that is really good although helping newcomers get into the hobby safely. as far as things you should and should not get one of these, you'll get one and you should definitely not immediately try to take off in your house because you'll hurt yourself or break something in your home. think of it like a vehicle, any other vehicle. the more you use it, the more experience you get and the better you can operate it. in the beginning, you really want to take it slow and not let it get away from you. there's a great website called knowbeforeyoufly.org. that's a great resource. >> some people in your business, some clients may say, how come you can't get a shot of city
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hall in philadelphia. as we said at the beginning of this program, you can't fly within a five, six-mile radius of the airport so that limits a lot of people in the city. >> as a hobbyist you're supposed to stay 25 feet away from people. commercially you have to stay 500 people away from people. five miles away from an airport unless you're checking with air traffic control beforehand. coming up on nbc10 " @issue issue" on whether or not you get a flu shot. we'll explain.
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rolling up your sleeve could save her life. >> you're a flu shot advocate. there's a special reason why, right? >> yeah. i'm 30 years old and i have advanced cystic fibrosis and the flu can be a matter of life and death for me. i'm urging people to realize the opportunity they have to help the community around them, people like me with medical conditions and the invisible vulnerabilities you might not know from looking at me. >> what is cystic fibrosis. >> a fatal lung disease. it affects the lung, all sorts of organs, gi system. it causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in our lungs. we cough all the time. we're always trying to control the infections that are ravaging our lungs. >> you're saying your health depends largely now on the
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community. why is that? >> the flu shot is wonderful but, unfortunately, it's not perfect. i'm the first in line to get my flu shot every year, but even that doesn't completely protect me from the flu. i really rely on protection from the community. from my friends and family getting their flu shots, even when i'm in line at the grocery store or getting on a train or touching a doorknob that someone else has just walked through, all of those opportunities for me to pick up the flu. that could -- it could ruin my winter and it could even ruin my life. so, you know, it can -- it really can be -- one flu can be my health. >> what do you say to people who refuse to get vaccinated? >> there are so many problems in the world that are unsolvable. we don't have a cure for cancer or cystic fibrosis. there are tons of infectious diseases out there we don't know what to do with. here's an opportunity we can use to help. we have a tool that can be
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helpful in combating this issue. you know, i think people are inherently really good and people want to help. this is an amazing opportunity to get the nasal spray or a little prick that can really save people's lives. >> you're saying there's no cure for cystic fibrosis. we hope that changes, though. >> yes. >> which shows me something you introduced personally to me. can you tell us about emily's entourage. >> my friends and family and i have started a nonprofit organization called emily's entourage. we founded it in december 2011. since then we've raised $1.5 million, over $1.5 million to find treatments and cures for cystic fibrosis. there have been big breakthroughs, but, unfortunately, i have a rare form that hasn't been able to benefit from any of the advances. we're pouring our hearts and souls into vigorously trying to find a breakthrough really soon.
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the fact is i have a really advanced disease. i have about 35% lung function and, you know, it's a race against time for me. and i am painfully aware of that. so, you know, we pat ourselves on the back for $1.5 million, but we quickly get back to work because it's not over until we find a breakthrough. so, we're working our hardest. >> i'm really proud to be a part of it, then. >> we're so happy to have you. >> thank you for joining me. i appreciate your time. i know everyone here something as well. >> for more information on emily's entourage, logau on to nbc10.com or touch the nbc10 news app. we'll be right back.
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"consumer reports'" latest naughty or nice list is out, giving buyers a peek at which companies are taking care of their companies. cvs made the list, adding hearing and eyeglass centers to its walk-in minute clinic. jetblue gives passengers free broadband in the skies and target for expanding their price patch policy to include all in store and online consumers. whole foods made the naughty list for being caught overcharging customers by improperly weighing self-service and prepackaged foods. whole foods tells us it's committed to fixing the problem. in a statement the company said, if an item is inadvertently found to be mispriced and not in the customer's favor, we will refund the customer's money on the spot and give them that item for free. happy buying. that's it for this edition of nbc10 "@issue." i'm rosemary connors. enjoy your sunday.
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