PTravel

He doesn't, nor does he know if you are a terrorist, so what is the point of checking ID?

And, since the No Fly list specifically excludes the most dangerous terrorists, what is the point of checking ID?

3. If you go to Russia, Ukraine, Afganistan etc and buy there passport with your picture and a different name, how TSA is going to know that it's fake? Are they trained to determine legitimacy of passports of all the countries of this world?[/quote]You can buy viable fake ID on Alverado Street in LA, so what is the point of checking ID?

I'll bet there are plenty of countries that do exist that most TSOs have never heard of, so what is the point of checking ID?

nrgiii

I agree with all of that. Would you agree that checking IDs, if done correctly with secure BPs, IDs and an accurate NF list would help make flying more secure?

nsx

I was once stopped by a campus cop for running a stop sign on my bicycle. When she asked "Do you have a driver's license?" I wondered whether she was allowed to ask for that and whether showing it would cause points to appear on my driving record.

Thinking fast, I replied "Yes." She never asked me to produce the license. Maybe she was as surprised by my answer as I was by her question. I showed her a student ID and kept the driver's license in my wallet.

FliesWay2Much

...and don't forget rock singers who change their names...

mikeef

No. It's too easy to get a fake ID. Or a real one with somebody else's name.

Mike

bocastephen

No, because there is still no way to guarantee someone's true identity absent some sort of mandatory DNA or retina scan database which I would oppose with every vigor my cells could generate.

What I WOULD propose is the creation of a two-tiered screening system a la 'Nexus'. Those who want to pre-register, submit to a background check and biometric sample (retina scan) would be able to enter a completely different security lane with minimal screening - just a bag x-ray and WTMD without removal of shoes, laptops, liquids, etc. In essence, a true 'Trusted Traveler'.

The CLEAR system never came close to that model and was a dismal failure - which is why it's out of business.

In this way, the TSA could redirect its limited resources at people it doesn't know, while leaving the people it does know the he** alone.

Of course we're still not even close to being safe until they properly scan cargo and improve through-the-fence access management - but that's another issue.

Boggie Dog

Not Boca but I would say that checking ID does not make a flight more safe.

What makes a flight safer is keeping WEI off the airplane.

Inspecting all cargo would make a flight safer.

Screening all airport workers would make a flight safer.

Knowing who bought a ticket for a flight does not make the flight safer.

KCK

Maybe she was just questioning your understanding of octagonal red signs.

studentff

If (all) done correctly, yes, more secure. So would checking every traveler against the NCIC (wanted criminal/suspects) database. So would prohibiting any passenger without at least a Secret-equivalent government security clearance.

But putting a paramilitary checkpoint on the nearest street corner to my house would make the neighborhood more secure. So would allowing arbitrary random searches of houses by the police. That doesn't mean I want either of those things.

Where do you draw the line? Can't fly if you were convicted of disorderly conduct in college? Reckless driving? Haven't paid child support? (to some extent they already do that since you can lose your DL for not paying.) Overdue library book?

The entire concept of a NF list (not allowed to fly, but no due process, no redress, no transparency, no accountability) is un-American. Anyone who passed a junior-high-level civics class would know that. That morons in the government thought that was the right thing to do is quite scary.

nrgiii

You are left with the same problem: how do you confirm the person going through the "True Trusted Traveller" line is who he says he is without some kind of secure ID and/or biometric check (which you oppose with every vigor of your cells)?

ceieoc

What do you have against food from McDonald's? Is food from the local pub ok to board?

nrgiii

That's the tough part, where to draw the line. Too much security is bad and too little security is bad and there's no security without some amount of inconvenience. Personally, I'll put up with more security (and the inconveniences that come with it) at the airport because my options to deal with the situation at 35,000 feet are quite limited.

I couldn't agree more.

Superguy

Do you want what TSA's trying to implement? Asking permission every time you fly with the possibility of being denied based on information that may not even be correct? How would you feel if that happened to you? Would you be upset or would you think "gee, the government must have something on me that I don't know about, I must be a threat"?

If so, do you think secret lists and asking for government permission is what America should be based on?

It's called the court system. If they're that much of a threat, there should be sufficient evidence they've commited a crime for a jury to convict them. Until that happens, they're as free as any other citizen and innocent until proven guilty. After all, you'd want the same rights and courtesies afforded to you, right?

Mr. Gel-pack

If that's what it takes, checking ID will never make us safer, since we can never meet those conditions.

What does an 'accurate' NF list entail? Mindreading everyone for potential homocidal tendencies a la Minority Report?

What does a secure BP mean? The 2,000,000 passengers per day will carry cell-phone images of encrypted boarding passes?

What does secure ID mean? 24-hour tracked RFID chips sewed deep into people's skulls so they can't trade them with people who look like them?

ID checking is a revenue-protection scheme to benefit the airlines.

bocastephen

That's why I said 'a la Nexus' - you scan your Iris at a console and pass a gate which gives you access to the special screening lane. If you want to make it official, we can use the same machines that Nexus and Global Traveler use and it can spit out a slip of paper one can hand to a screener after picking up bags and leaving the lane.

It would dramatically simplify the screening process for millions of frequent travelers and enable the TSA to focus efforts more efficiently.