Can i assume a dense line of trees would count as safe seperation when considering the 50m from people
Trees make no difference to the distance. 50 metres is measured horizontally across the ground.
The line of dense trees might prevent you from having Visual Line of Sight to your drone.
I see an interview with the caa the other week about this ( trees as seperation ) as the OP says in the post above the rules still apply, you may not know who or what is on the other side of the trees with obscured VLOS which is obviously a hazard.
I know what the rules say, my intention is keeping to one side of the trees away from whatever is on the other side and obviously with vlos at all times, my question is can the tree line be classed as i natural safe barrier for whatever is the other side aslong as the arcraft is keept within it.
For istance if im in open countryside with a line of dense trees in front of me and cant see the other side of trees as long as the aircraft is flown this side of said trees can i assume its a barrier to whatevwe or whoever is the otherside
I think that is a ‘thing’ for the FAA in the US, but I don’t think it’s relevant here.
As far as I’m aware, the restriction is 50m, irrespective of whether there is a physical barrier or not.
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This
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As the ‘bubble’ would swallow the trees 
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“I know what the rules say”
Sorry for being very blunt, but, you obviously don’t.
“my question is can the tree line be classed as a natural safe barrier for whatever is on the other side”
No, it can’t
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Thanks for your bluntness, it is uncalled for and i take offence, i do know the rules, the tree line scenario is not mentioned anywhere in the caa drone rules and i think is a valid topic of discussion so you know what you can do with your know all attitude
Its just hypothetical but if the tree line is 25m high and i set my max altitude at 20m then surely there is no danger to the other side of trees
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“Thanks for your bluntness, it is uncalled for and i take offence, i do know the rules”
Cool 
. Life wouldn’t be life if we all got along
You fly however you want Skidoo, none of us here are the drone police, and none of us will attempt to be so. You asked a question on an open forum, you got some answers.
ps i don’t know all the answers, was just giving my opinion, which you asked for. But yeah, I can have an attitude 
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The treeline scenario doesn’t exist because…it doesn’t exist. It’s not in the rules because… well you see where I might be going eh?
50mtrs is 50mtrs. Regardless of obstacles between you and other people. So go back and read the rules, have a look for where it says you can use a line of trees as seperation, you wont find it. And yes, it is of course a valid topic for discussion, but that’s not how you phrased your original question
I beg your forgiveness in my utter ignorance your worship 
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As has already been said, there is no mention of anything being able to be used as a ‘natural safe barrier’ within the CAA Drone code, so although it could be argued that the trees would make the flight safe for people on the other side of the trees, it would still not be legal in the eyes of the CAA to fly close than 50m to uninvolved people - unless you are flying a sub 250gm drone or have an A2CofC and your drone is sub 500gm.
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I do get where you are coming from, there wouldn’t be any danger, but you wouldn’t be flying legally unless you had a sub 250gm drone as Suzanne said below.
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It’s not included in the rules as the rules are to mitigate injury in case of an accident.
So your drone develops a fault, rises to 60m flies over the trees, and then drops on top of the people on the other side of the trees, injurying them. So, no, it wouldn’t count as it’s still within the 50m bubble.
Now spread nets over the top and sides like an avery, then as the drone can’t escape, it would fall within the interior flight rules wich the CAA don’t regulate, and falls under H&S legislation.
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AIUI, and because my drone is sub-250g I don’t have to, you would have to know for certain that there are no people other than those involved in the flight nearer than 50m to be ‘legal’. So, if there was an impenetrable line of trees, or a 50’ wall, you should not fly within 50m of it because you cannot assume that there are no people on the other side of it. For it to be a barrier for this purpose it would have to be at least 400’ feet high.
I have to say that I’m put off the idea of ever owning a 250g+ drone because it looks to me to be nearly impossible in an urban or suburban environment to find a place to fly it in which you can be 100% certain that there are no people within 50m, or that people would not penetrate that space while you were flying, at least over land…
Yes i know rules are rules that unfortunately i have no influence on making and yet commonsense seems to be a thing of the past and are not encouraged to
be in possess of or use any more in our daily decision making as the all powerfull rule makers would rather force more and more regulation on all of us, uas as a hobby has so many confusing or misleading and constantly changing rules and regulations that in reality is a very safe passtime unlike the use we have of motorised road vehicles that have the potential to injury and kill and do so multiple times each and every day.
Remember to tick all them pre flight boxes before your next flight and remain safe but Keep in mind if you have just one ounce of commonsense you likely go through a cranial risk assessment before each and every flight just as you would before taking a walk across the road.
Happy flying everyone, stay safe and always stick to the rules, they are made by people who know best but probable know naff all.
Looked at from the rule-makers’ point of view (CAA, government), unfortunately the principle has to be that one cannot rely on common sense, or any sense at all, from the general public, so the rule, when it is made, has to be much more stringent than anybody with half a brain cell would need for their own protection and those close to them. Some people are just stupid, and congenitally incapable of considering the possible consequences of their actions, and others simply don’t see that rules apply to them because they are ‘sensible’; these are the people who get cut off by the tide becasue they didn’t think they needed tide tables or picnic on railway lines they thought were closed…
So rules and safety regulations have to be formulated to take these Darwin Award contenders into account, and the rest of us have to put up with it.
Boils down to don’t be a dick
And let he who is without sin cast the first stone
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