Photo credit: www.routexl.com licensed under CC BY 2.0
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
UECNA, the European Union Against Aircraft Nuisances, is sponsoring a webinar abut delivery drones and flying taxis on September 19, 2022, 6 p.m. Brussels time. That’s noon in New York ant 9 a.m. in Los Angeles.
I don’t know if everyone has heard the annoying buzz of a drone, but I have, in parks from hobbyists and at weddings when used by the photographers. Imagine a giant mosquito buzzing around. That’s what they sound like to me. And that’s for relatively small photo drones, not larger delivery drones.
Delivery drones aren’t a theoretical concept. They are already being used here in Los Angeles.
As far as I know, electric air taxis aren’t flying anywhere yet, but the literature says they are coming to skies near us soon.
New technologies or business ideas often outpace existing regulations and protections for the public. Ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, for example, successfully evaded existing state and local regulations about taxis, including criminal background checks on drivers, training requirements for them, and insurance requirements. Short-term rental apps like AirBnB bypassed hotel and rental laws in many communities, decreasing the availability of rental housing and causing noise and other problems in many resort communities.
Many concerned about noise pollution are concerned about the noise of delivery drones and air taxis, and are trying to stay a step ahead of these potential airborne noise polluters.
The UECNA webinar is open to all, and if you’re worried about this noise issue, you should try to attend.
