Can You Fly a Drone Over Roads and Cars?

Roads come up on almost every drone job: a property next to a highway, a construction site by a busy street, a car commercial. Part 107 treats the people inside moving cars much like people on the ground, with one twist. Under 14 CFR §107.145, you may not fly over a person inside a moving vehicle unless the operation meets one of the operations over people categories and that category's extra condition for vehicles.

What does the rule require?

The operation must meet the requirements of Category 1, 2, 3 or 4. Then, for Categories 1, 2 and 3, the drone must do one of two things throughout the flight:

• stay within or over a closed- or restricted-access site, where everyone inside a moving vehicle is on notice that a drone may fly over them; or
• not maintain sustained flight over moving vehicles.

For Category 4, the drone needs an FAA airworthiness certificate, and its approved operating limitations must not prohibit flight over people in moving vehicles.

So can you cross a road?

Usually, if your drone and operation fit Category 1, 2 or 3, and you cross rather than linger. A quick crossing at height to reach the other side of a site is a different thing from hovering over a lane or following a car down the street. The "closed- or restricted-access site" option covers a different situation: a construction site or film set where vehicle traffic is controlled and everyone inside knows a drone may pass overhead.

If your drone does not fit any category, for example a heavier drone with exposed propellers and no declaration of compliance, then flying over people in moving vehicles is off the table, and the plan has to keep the flight path away from the traffic. The operations over people post explains which drones fit which category.

Is flying over a parked car the same?

No. §107.39 allows flight over a person inside a stationary vehicle that can provide reasonable protection from a falling drone. A car stopped at a light is stationary for that moment; a car moving through an intersection is not. Plan for the moving case.

What else applies near roads?

• Airspace. Highways near airports often sit in controlled airspace; check before you launch.
• Line of sight and distraction. A drone low over traffic can distract drivers, and the careless or reckless rule in Part 107 rules people forget applies.
• State and local law. Some places restrict drones near highways or critical infrastructure.

What the exam asks about moving vehicles

Expect a scenario with a road or a moving vehicle and four choices that differ by category or by sustained versus transient flight. The handbook's operations over people elements cover it, starting at UA.I.E.K1.