Far Out Friday: Drone attack strikes

Drones are seen as a hot new area for insurance – and as this case proves they can also leave owners with a hefty bill

Far Out Friday: Drone attack strikes

Insurance News

By Jordan Lynn

Drones may have a revolutionary impact on the insurance industry but one Sydney driver has found they can cause a few headaches along the way.

Scott Hillsley was driving over the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 70km/h when a drone crashed from the sky and struck his car, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Footage of the incident, recorded on a dashcam, shows the drone falling from the sky and almost crashing through the windscreen of his car as he drove home from a shift as a trauma nurse at Royal North Shore Hospital.

The drone owner has not stepped forward, which could leave Hillsley with a bill for a $1,000 excess on his car insurance.

“I got half way across and this object came flying towards my window. It ricocheted off my car and smashed into several pieces,” Hillsley told the publication. “I thought, ‘is it someone throwing a rock or something off the bridge?’“

“They could cause a fatality [from] a head-on collision. Anyone who goes over the Harbour Bridge potentially could lose their lives in these sort of incidents.”

This incident marks the second time in nine months that a car has been struck by a drone on the bridge.

The skies above the majority of Sydney Harbour, including the bridge, are restricted airspace as helicopters and seaplanes operate in the area. Drone users need to seek permission before flying in the area with one owner fined $540 for flying his drone without permission.




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