Scott Hillsley knows all too well the horrific consequences of road accidents.
Yet the trauma nurse never thought the dangers would come from above as he drove home over the Sydney Harbour Bridge from Royal North Shore hospital on Saturday afternoon.
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Drone crashes into car on bridge
A Sydney trauma nurse got the shock of his life when a drone hit his car on the Harbour Bridge.
"I got half way across and this object came flying towards my window. It ricocheted off my car and smashed into several pieces," he said. "I thought, 'is it someone throwing a rock or something off the bridge?'"
The large object turned out to be a drone, the owner of which has yet to be found.
![Part of the drone that struck Scott Hillsley's car on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.](/web/20170515100308im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/2/s/l/k/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw2h5q.png/1494488756208.jpg)
Mr Hillsley, from Petersham in Sydney's inner west, said he was speaking out because the incident showed that more needed to be done to stop people flying drones near major roadways.
"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," he said.
"Two cars at 70km/h is an impact of 140 km/h â that will kill you."
He caught the incident on a camera mounted on the dashboard of his Suzuki Ignis, which he bought only two months ago.
![Trauma nurse Scott Hillsley.](/web/20170515100308im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/2/s/t/6/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gw2h5q.png/1494488756208.jpg)
It is the second reported incident in the past nine months in which a drone has struck a car on the Harbour Bridge.
Large parts of the skies above Sydney Harbour â including the bridge, Middle Harbour, White Bay and Rose Bay â are restricted airspace due to the helicopters and seaplanes which operate in the area.
Drones and other aircraft need permission before they can fly over the area.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority said identifying the owners of drones was a challenge, and the regulator was keen for people to report incidents so that action could be taken.
The regulator receives about one or two complaints a day about drones, most of which relate to claims about breaches of privacy. In March, an owner was fined $540 after he flew his drone over Sydney Harbour without permission.
The Roads and Maritime Services said drones posed risks to transport infrastructure and heavy penalties applied to those found to be using them unlawfully.
Unless the owner of the drone involved in the latest incident can be found, Mr Hillsley will have to pay $1000 in excess for insurance on his car, which suffered dents and scratches.
A smash repairer found part of the drone in the motor of his car.