Worth noting that the Gatwick incident mentioned in the first paragraph is highly contentious and it hasn't been proven to have been by a drone. You can read my summary of the event[1] or one by the guardian[2] on the same -
If your news diet is consumed by negative press and sad stories, they become more readily available[0] to you and can affect your decisions adversely by making you think that the base rate of such bad events are more common than they really are[1].
The test is easier than a full part-107 exam and I was able to finish mine in less than half an hour for free. The FAA did the right thing by making the test free to take. If there were any fees involved, it would hinder adoption and work against FAA’s goal. Some might see the test as another thing to do, but making it free really does have a lower barrier of entry, and is a necessary step in the right direction which could’ve easily gone wrong if a fee was involved.
[1] https://www.skyebrowse.com/