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2012 Survey: How Effective is the Transportation Security Administration?

2012 Survey: How Effective is the Transportation Security Administration?

Old Aug 10, 2012, 1:00 pm
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2012 Survey: How Effective is the Transportation Security Administration?

Please click here for the article and poll results.
_______________________________

Why do some days of passing through an airport security checkpoint needlessly inconvenience you and try your patience to its limits, while other days seem to be effortless? Do you feel safe with the procedures currently in place by the Transportation Security Administration — or TSA — at airport security checkpoints?

FlyerTalk — the largest Internet travel community in the world with a rich base of travel knowledge — has collaborated with Frequent Business Traveler magazine on a series of polls and surveys pertaining to air travel, restaurants, hotels, technology, safety and security. Frequent Business Traveler will provide the poll; FlyerTalk members — yes, you in particular — will provide the opinions.

This survey — active through August 31, 2012 — is about How Effective is the TSA? Many FlyerTalk members pass through hundreds of airport security checkpoints throughout the United States on a regular basis — and airport security checkpoints in the United States can potentially foster issues and situations which can drive you absolutely insane.

The primary purpose of this particular discussion is for you to opine, elaborate on your thoughts and relate your experiences pertaining to the effectiveness of the Transportation Security Administration as a frequent traveler.

Results of this survey will be announced both on-line in the magazine and here on FlyerTalk.

So — How effective is the TSA? Please complete the survey today and let everyone know your thoughts and experiences!
________________________

I will start...

Recently, I had the opportunity to pass through an airport security checkpoint through the TSA Pre✓ line even though I never signed up for it. I did not have to remove my bag of liquids or take off my shoes. The agents were friendly and polite. This was by far the quickest, easiest and most civilized passage through an airport security checkpoint for me since before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The experience at airport security checkpoints in the United States should always be similar to this particular experience for me.

However, I do not believe that frequent travelers should have to pay or register for this privilege. It should automatically be a benefit as part of elite membership status in a frequent flier loyalty program.

In general, I would say that with its inconsistent policies, the Transportation Security Administration has little effectiveness on the implementation of airport and airline security overall. It is a bloated federal agency which needs a significant reduction in agents, and those agents who remain should be qualified to perform proper security measures at airport security checkpoints which mitigate the inconvenience to passengers as much as possible.

I have other opinions and thoughts, but I will leave them for other FlyerTalk members to post in this discussion...

Last edited by Canarsie; Sep 10, 2012 at 9:34 am
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Old Aug 10, 2012, 1:27 pm
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With all respect,

is there an intelligent point to this?

I realize the OP has vastly more experience than I with contributing to this board. But, come on . . . Does anyone really believe that the overall FT community will give rave reviews for the TSA?

And, when you say TSA, what do you mean? Do you mean the personnel at the airports who are required to obey their bosses? [Don't you bosses out there want your employess to obey you?]

Or, when you say TSA, do you mean the executives who set the policies?

Also, the OP writes ...
Why do some days of passing through an airport security checkpoint needlessly inconvenience you . . .
. Excuse me, but that statement shows a negative bias - hardly what should exist for a theoretically objective survey [my emphasis].

And, what do you mean by effective? The TSA personnel know how to turn their machines on and off? Or, they catch the bad guys?

When I saw the survey, it was also rife with non-objective statments (WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE . . .). Do we judge their effectiveness on my beliefs?

How is the survey to be scored? If I fly once a year, do my survey responses have equal weight with someone who flies 150 times per year?

I also saw no way to input suggestions for improvement - so, what is the purpose of the survey?

Again, you have all my respect personally. But this "survey" seems to me to have a gazillion holes in it.

Incidentally, as a matter of course, I do not complete any survey that fails to inform me - prior to taking the survey - what is the purpose and to what use my responses and information are used.

Hope that you obtain satisfactory results.

Last edited by essxjay; Aug 20, 2012 at 11:50 pm Reason: wholesale quote removed for readability
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Old Aug 10, 2012, 1:44 pm
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First, thanks to travis for the points he makes.

Regarding the survey, which I developed, it it modeled after a recent Gallup poll that surveyed people who dont really fly that much about the topic.

To ensure we can make an apples-to-apples comparison, we tried to pose the questions in the same vein.

In this type of survey, at least as far as I am concerned, you are really getting someones belief, which may or may not translate into fact. Regardless, we want peoples beliefs on this topic but we also want to see what an active flying community says in response to these questions versus the general public.

I hope this addresses at least part of the concerns you expressed.
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Old Aug 10, 2012, 1:58 pm
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I read the Gallup findings with a sense of disbelief due to the number of people who simply fly once or twice a year who were surveyed. Naturally their feelings about security checkpoints cannot be the same as those of us who fly weekly.

As a result, I am very interested in seeing the results here.
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Old Aug 11, 2012, 5:25 am
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I apologise for lying but the Poll insisted I flew, as a minimum, 1-4 Business Trips a year. Being a retired person, that caused a problem as I couldn't complete the survey without stating a number. My Frequent Leisure Travel probably compensates statistically

I agree with DCann, though. Responses from those with more frequent exposure to the variabilities of TSA's passenger handling will undoubtedly carry greater credibility than Gallup's "3+" flights [being the 'upper tier' of their sampling].
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Old Aug 11, 2012, 6:19 am
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Not to mention the people who fly frequently but never see the TSA. America is not the world.
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Old Aug 11, 2012, 8:58 am
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Originally Posted by stifle
Not to mention the people who fly frequently but never see the TSA. America is not the world.
Really? OMG

However, it's our 2nd home
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 7:39 am
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Originally Posted by T8191
I apologise for lying but the Poll insisted I flew, as a minimum, 1-4 Business Trips a year. Being a retired person, that caused a problem as I couldn't complete the survey without stating a number. My Frequent Leisure Travel probably compensates statistically
Maybe you didn't notice, but the survey is part of the Frequent Business Traveler blog, ne Executive Road Warrior, "the leading business and travel publication designed to cater to the travel and technology needs of the business traveler."

That said, it also requires you to take a minimum of 1 personal trip a year - even if you only travel on business.
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 8:52 am
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Originally Posted by DCBob
Maybe you didn't notice, but the survey is part of the Frequent Business Traveler blog, ne Executive Road Warrior, "the leading business and travel publication designed to cater to the travel and technology needs of the business traveler."

That said, it also requires you to take a minimum of 1 personal trip a year - even if you only travel on business.
Yeah, I'm a really bad person.

Sorry, I'll read the T&C more carefully in future. Everyone with a Chase BA Card did

Apologies for having money but not a job. Izza Beeetch.
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 10:03 am
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Its security theater and its annoying and useless.
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 10:04 am
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Originally Posted by dumbinic
Its security theater and its annoying and useless.
And the basis of that statement is what?
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 12:25 pm
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I don't have any problem with the TSA. While occasionally I come across personnel who are lackadaisical in moving folks along or kind of unfriendly (though never downright rude IME), for the most part they've been pretty efficient and courteous. It's a tough job in a lot of ways, in terms of both dealing with the tedium and the sometimes impatient passengers.

I only rated the agency "somewhat effective" at preventing a terrorist attack because I think it does what it can but there are no absolute guarantees. Lots of the most effective work in preventing attacks involves intelligence to block them before anyone even gets to the airport.

Now, maybe some will take my "somewhat effective" responses as an indication that folks feel the TSA is doing a lousy job. And maybe, then, I should have checked another box. But my point here is that even the results leave lots of room for (mis)interpretation.

I'm quite surprised that I could vote more than once. This would seem to undermine whatever value the survey holds.
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 12:56 pm
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Originally Posted by Thunderroad
Now, maybe some will take my "somewhat effective" responses as an indication that folks feel the TSA is doing a lousy job. And maybe, then, I should have checked another box. But my point here is that even the results leave lots of room for (mis)interpretation.
As one of the people who has to interpret the data, I think your response will be interpreted correctly and not that the "TSA is doing a lousy job." Somewhat effective does imply what one would presume.

Originally Posted by Thunderroad
I'm quite surprised that I could vote more than once. This would seem to undermine whatever value the survey holds.
I have to have someone check this. It is supposed to block based on cookie (blocking by IP ends up blocking entire companies once one person in a company has taken the survey) but we also rescreen by IP to make sure that there are no duplicates within certain parameters that would imply stuffing the ballot box.
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 2:43 pm
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Originally Posted by jspira
First, thanks to travis for the points he makes.

Regarding the survey, which I developed, it it modeled after a recent Gallup poll that surveyed people who dont really fly that much about the topic.

To ensure we can make an apples-to-apples comparison, we tried to pose the questions in the same vein.

In this type of survey, at least as far as I am concerned, you are really getting someones belief, which may or may not translate into fact. Regardless, we want peoples beliefs on this topic but we also want to see what an active flying community says in response to these questions versus the general public.

I hope this addresses at least part of the concerns you expressed.
Modeled after a poll of people that DO NOT FLY? I guess you hamster grooming business and only survey people that have had heart attacks as to why they do not use your service.

What is the first question about - AWFUL question - Do you think the TSA is doing a poor, fair, good, or excellent job in airport security screening. We cant judge that, nor will a non traveler know what their job is except what the news media tells them. I as a traveler cannot tell if they do a good job. I can only tell you that I in no way am trying to harm people or the air transportation system, and until you prove otherwise, you SHOULD NOT do what you do to me.

Even in the 70s people found a way to get a bomb on a plane. The metal detector works well so they know nothing is in your pockets. Then everything goes through the xray. Again after that, unless you know the person wants to do something, then you dont check their water or medications.

Even with the people that have gone nuts - the movie theatre shooter -there will come out there were signs he was a little odd, maybe a drop out and anti social. None of these are enough to investigate the person. If you apply the TSA rules to him, someone would be in his apartment everyday, and yours and mine, without reason to think we are wanting to do something bad. But we breathe and do , therefore we are criminals.
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Old Aug 12, 2012, 2:50 pm
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Originally Posted by T8191
And the basis of that statement is what?
Theatre as in there is no reason to do this to EVERYONE. They do it to (in the minds of those in charge and the politician) make it look like they want to catch the 'bad guy'. Have you ever been stopped in a DUI check? There is no reason to believe that just cause it is after closing time EVERY DRIVER is intoxicated. But it is done to LOOK like they are trying to stop the drunk driver on that road. that is not the only road he can possibly be on.
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