Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for travel safety
Registered Travelers Sail Through Airport Security
By Linda Tancs
If you’re an airport latecomer, frequent flier or business traveler, there’s Zen-like relief from airport security lines at your disposal. In case you haven’t heard, a program called Clear allows registered travelers access to a special security lane to breeze through security. The one-year-old program works like this: you fill out an online form and then meet with a Homeland Security representative to verify your ID and select your fingerprint and iris images for your Clear card. At a participating airport (there are 14 to date), you move through a special security lane with your ID and Clear card. The program does not remove the need to pass through the metal detectors and x-rays, but the special lanes should theoretically cut down on your airport transit time. So how much is all this convenience worth to you? There’s a special first-year introductory rate of $100. If your security “status” changes (in other words, you’re not on Santa’s good list anymore), then you’ll get a refund for the unused portion of your annual fee. Clear encourages lobbying your state airport directors to make its program more widespread–and therefore more viable–across the country. Learn more at www.flyclear.com.
Share this:
Carry-On Rules Revised in U.K.
By Linda Tancs
After much consternation surrounding the U.K. Department for Transport’s one bag carry-on rule, today’s effective date for lifting of the old rule provides welcome relief for travelers. In the past, the one-bag rule meant that a purse or other hand bag, laptop, and luggage bag were not counted as one bag for carry-on purposes. The old rule required passengers to choose among these items for carry-on, creating headaches for business travelers in particular. Now, at several U.K. airports including Heathrow, London City and Stansted, each airline has the discretion to enforce the old carry-on rule. Travelers are advised to check with their respective airline for travel originating in or connecting through U.K. airports to avoid any unwelcome surprises. As for Gatwick, the old rule is still in effect for the time being while substantial construction activity that could potentially disrupt security measures continues.
Share this:
GAO Reports on Runway Safety
By Linda Tancs
The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report recently on the status of runway and ramp safety measures deployed by the FAA. As any traveler knows, runway incidents are relatively infrequent, but increasingly crowded skies pose growing concerns over traffic management. In fact, according to the GAO, runway incursions have not decreased in the same manner as runway overruns since the FAA’s last runway safety plan was implemented in 2002. Among other things, the GAO recommends that the FAA revise its 2002 plan to conform to its own policy, which mandates revisions every 2 or 3 years. Go to http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0829high.pdf to read more about the report.
Share this:
3-1-1 Rule Revisited
By Linda Tancs
As any traveler knows, 3-1-1 (the rule restricting carry-on liquids to 3 ounces in a single quart-sized, ziplock bag) has evolved into a global rule for the promotion of safe air travel. The TSA Web site reports that the following countries have adopted the rule:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Of course, all travelers should exercise caution and watchfulness (especially during busy holiday seasons such as this) regardless of the rules in play (or lack thereof), as the TSA recommends.
If you enjoy my blog, please leave a comment and/or write a short review at a site like Stumbleupon. Thanks!
Share this:
The Perils of the Antarctic
By Linda Tancs
Perhaps the words of science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson, “First you fall in love with Antarctica, and then it breaks your heart” should be changed to “First you fall in love with Antarctica, and then it breaks your boat.” The perils of Antarctic expeditions were underlined with the recent sinking of the Explorer. Thankfully, all passengers and crew survived. There’s no doubt that the wind-driven and swiftly moving ice of the Antarctic imperils any vessel there, but with today’s post-Titanic advances in mapping and sonar technologies, how–and why–does an Explorer-type incident occur? After all, we can trace a mad cow to its birthplace on a farm anywhere in the world. Is an iceberg any less significant? Maybe it just comes down to the numbers involved, but polar research will be driving climate science and experimentation in the years ahead. That should bring the safety of polar travel to the forefront.
Share this:
New Flying Handbooks Available
By Linda Tancs
For all those parachuters and pilots desiring a rating, take note: new handbooks are available at the FAA Web site. Study hard!
Share this:
Bridge Ratings
By Linda Tancs
In light of the tragedy of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, the safety of U.S. bridges is paramount on everyone’s mind these days. So how safe are these bridges? A review of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics Web site shows that the biggest loser in bridge safety is Oklahoma, with 27% of its bridges labelled as “structurally deficient.” And what does “structurally deficient” mean, you ask? Well, the Federal Highway Administration, 2006 Conditions and Performance Report defines “structurally deficient” as the result of an analysis of a bridge’s ratings according to its deck, superstructure and substructure, the highest rating being a 9. So what does your state’s report card look like? Ask your legislators.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 