S30048 Drone Road User Distraction

National Highways wish to appoint specialist technical consultants to undertake research to understand whether separation distances, between drones operated by/on behalf of National Highways and road users, can be safely reduced from the currently permitted 50 metres as defined in GG 954 - Drone Operations. Specifically, National Highways is seeking to establish whether flights at distances as low as 10 metres can be undertaken without distracting divers, enabling the potential for many more drone flights to meet growing business needs. Drone use for/on behalf of National Highways is governed by CAA regulations, CAP 722, as well as our own DMRB Drone Standard, GG 954 - Drones Operations. Projects wishing to use drones must submit a GG 104 Safety Risk Assessment to the relevant National Highways review body, evidencing the safety benefits of using a drone when compared to the 'baseline' way of working. In short, use of a drone must be safer than, or at least as safe as, the baseline way of working. A reduction in separation distances is permitted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), subject to the Drone Operator being granted an Operation Safety Case by the CAA. Likewise, GG 954 - Drones Operations makes provision for reduced separation distances, subject to 'acceptance' from the Drone safety Control Review Group (SCRG) or National Safety Control Review Group (NSCRG). However, despite there being a route to potential acceptance of flights at distances less than 50 metres, those accepted so far have been in very specific circumstances and where flights could be visible to drivers, have required risk mitigation due to a lack of research/evidence available to understand the extent of what may/may not distract drivers at distances less than 50 metres.