Traveling these days, especially when flying, is a lot different from just a couple of years ago. There is some good news that will help ease the stress that sometimes accompanies airline travel. The Department of Homeland Security unveiled measures aimed at easing the aggravation associated with air travel, including new screening machines, clearer standards for identification, so Grandma is less likely to confused for a terrorist in this year's trip to Orlando.
Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary, said the measures aim "to take security to a new level, but also to take convenience to a new level, to eliminate some of the persistent irritations that are a constant source of complaint."
Where new "millimeter wave" scanners are part of a system the department calls Checkpoint Evolution.
"Another thing the checkpoint uses is whole-body imaging. ... This technology allows us to detect any item concealed in a person's body," Chertoff said.
The scanners clearly reveal all the contours of a person's body through clothing. This is the most controversial tools of the three because an image of the semi-nude bodies is visible to complete strangers, but the TSA and Department of Homeland security both believe that having the security personnel, faces scrambled, and images in another room circumvents the concern.
The department also announced standard criteria for accepting passenger identification: "Beginning May 26, 2008, federal or state-issued photo ID will be accepted if it contains: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature."
There also new steps in place to solve the problem of someone having the same name as those on the "watchlist"
Now that you've learned that it is even easier to getaway from it all, now is the time to book that flight and come on down to Florida!
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