The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is installing new signs this week to remind people that the world famous span is a no-drone zone.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, drones are also banned from flying near the bridge and its surrounding property, including National Park Service land. District officials reportedly warned that any drones found to be flying near or around those areas will be tracked and confiscated and the owner could face prosecution.
Among concerns are that the drones often drop from the skies due to a host of unanticipated incidents, including technical error, and could drop into traffic, potentially causing accidents or severely injuring cyclists, among other things.
Adrienne Freeman, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service. told the San Jose Mercury News that “the drones have the potential of interfering with emergency operation, there can also be an effect on species, such as falcons, and it’s also about the visitor experience.”
This past Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began requiring anyone who buys a small unmanned aircraft weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds to register the device before flying it outdoors. Registration reportedly costs $5 and can be completed online at https://registermyuas.faa.gov until February 19.
One drone crashed into the Golden Gate Bridge’s roadway in April of this year after it was knocked out by heavy winds.
In Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department launched a raid on drones by using police drones of their own with nets attached to them to capture private drones that they feel might be spying by flying over sensitive locations like airports, government buildings and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office.
The Telegraph notes that the move reportedly was sparked after a four-propellor drone carrying trace amounts of radioactive caesium was intercepted on top of Abe’s office in April, raising terror concerns in the capital.
Below is a video demonstration of a riot police-operated drone capturing a trespasser:
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