Lately I have been discussing the shoe criteria with TSA supervisors at airports I pass through. After getting past the "SSI" nonsense, most of them admit that the rule is to x-ray shoes with soles exceeding 1 inch in thickness. So far, so good. But then they say that the determination of sole thickness is up to the screener. I have a big problem with that.

At one airport recently (actually, I can't recall which one!), the supervisor was pretty nice about it, but he insisted that the screener looking at the shoes would decide how thick they are. I asked if a screener could similarly "determine" that I am 6 feet tall (adding about 6 inches to my actual height). The supervisor refused to answer that question.

I continue to insist that sole thickness is a factual question that can be objectively determined. Just have a few cheap plastic rulers at each checkpoint, and the job is done. One supervisor told me that checking shoes that way would slow up the lines. That may be a valid perspective, but close to 100% shoe removal isn't exactly speeding up the lines, is it?

Any opinions on this?

Bruce