Regulations are important to keep people safe (it's pretty easy to build quadcopters that go 80-100mph), but I don't see what registration accomplishes. More accountability?
Accountability for those who register and post the ID on their machines. I look at it as a "show of good faith" - ie, I build a drone and by registering it, I say "I will do my best to be safe with it, but should something happen, I will put my ID on it so you can find me, in the event that I don't own up to the issue".
At the same time, though, I think that some of the restrictions on what and how you can fly should be loosened up for hobbyists that agree to register. Certain design limits should be made larger or changed, and certain operating criteria should also be changed.
For example, if I register, I should be able to create a fully autonomous drone, and be able to have it fly out of line-of-sight (LOS), and/or have full first-person-view flight capabilities without my needing LOS to control it (or at least allow for a spotter to need LOS while the pilot can be sans-LOS).
Of course - this doesn't make much sense; if you don't register at all, and fly, then nothing would really stop you. But I guess if you were caught, heavy fines or something could be brought against you as punishment for not registering and causing a problem (above and beyond any other laws broken). Registration would not cause those fines or whatnot to kick-in, but it wouldn't protect you from any civil suit or other laws broken of course (maybe there could be insurance for that).
At the same time, though, I think that some of the restrictions on what and how you can fly should be loosened up for hobbyists that agree to register. Certain design limits should be made larger or changed, and certain operating criteria should also be changed.
For example, if I register, I should be able to create a fully autonomous drone, and be able to have it fly out of line-of-sight (LOS), and/or have full first-person-view flight capabilities without my needing LOS to control it (or at least allow for a spotter to need LOS while the pilot can be sans-LOS).
Of course - this doesn't make much sense; if you don't register at all, and fly, then nothing would really stop you. But I guess if you were caught, heavy fines or something could be brought against you as punishment for not registering and causing a problem (above and beyond any other laws broken). Registration would not cause those fines or whatnot to kick-in, but it wouldn't protect you from any civil suit or other laws broken of course (maybe there could be insurance for that).