Tag: Travel And Security
Do the FAA’s ‘Silly Rules’ Accomplish Anything?
by Michael Yessis | 10.01.10 | 12:26 PM ET
Not really, writes Willy Stern in the Weekly Standard. To Stern, the silly rules include mandatory seat belt fastening, the cell phone ban and requiring seats upright for landing.
What’s at work here is society’s unhealthy fear of risk—a problem that is compounded by scaremongering in the press and the prevalence of lawsuits over the most minor injuries and actions—and a reluctance to assume personal responsibility in the face of the ubiquitous Nanny State. But there’s also simple inertia.
“In 21 years of flying, I never once heard a flight attendant complain about enforcing these rules,” says Candace Kolander, now coordinator of air safety for the Association of Flight Attendants. “It’s not an annoyance for us. You hear the bongs and you go through the ritual. It’s ingrained.” Indeed, it is ingrained, and that’s part of the problem. Luke Froeb of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management explains that institutions like the FAA fall victim to what behavioral economists call a “status quo” bias, where rules—no matter how ridiculous—are almost impossible to change once in place.
Fun fact from the piece: The regulation that requires seats to be upright for takeoff and landing runs 1,382 words, more than double the amount of words in the U.S. Bill of Rights. (Via The Morning News)
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Yahoo! BuzzWorld Travel Watch: Second Bomb Threat at the Eiffel Tower, Rabies in Bali and More
by Larry Habegger | 09.29.10 | 11:38 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Commonwealth Games Concerns in India, Elections in Cuzco and More
by Larry Habegger | 09.22.10 | 12:46 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Turmoil in Kashmir, Criminal Gangs in El Salvador and More
by Larry Habegger | 09.16.10 | 10:46 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Mudslides in Guatemala, Bombing in Cancun and More
by Larry Habegger | 09.08.10 | 1:41 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Plague in Bolivia and Peru, Warnings in Northern Ireland and More
by Larry Habegger | 09.02.10 | 12:09 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Tube Strikes Looming in London, China’s Epic Traffic Jam and More
by Larry Habegger | 08.25.10 | 11:59 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Flesh Fines in France, Medical Tourism Risks in South Asia and More
by Larry Habegger | 08.18.10 | 12:22 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Anxious About Full-Body Scanners? xkcd has a Solution
by Eva Holland | 08.16.10 | 4:59 PM ET
Here’s the web comic’s, er, modest proposal. (Via James Fallows)
World Travel Watch: Deadly Heat Wave in Moscow, Underground Colosseum Tours and More
by Larry Habegger | 08.11.10 | 11:38 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Mexican Border ‘at its Ugliest Right Now’
by Jim Benning | 08.02.10 | 12:17 PM ET
That’s the assessment of Mark Lacey in the New York Times. He appears to have visited Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez for his report.
[A]s I cross back and forth at some of the border’s most troubled points, I find that even a journalist faces scrutiny going both ways. American authorities grilling those entering the United States wonder just what an American could possibly be doing south of the border in this climate. And entering Mexico elicits surprise as well from the American inspectors who now regularly stop southbound cars, looking for gun traffickers and money launderers.
“You sure you want to go down there?” one of them said to me recently.
As I noted a few months ago, Tijuana’s Revolution Avenue, once hopping with American visitors, looks more like a tourist ghost town these days.
World Travel Watch: Dress Code in Vatican City, Taxi Kidnappings in Nicaragua and More
by Larry Habegger | 07.28.10 | 12:12 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Square Grouper on the Cocaine Coast
by Jill K. Robinson | 07.28.10 | 10:09 AM ET
Photo: Jill K. Robinson When Jill K. Robinson found her perfect beachfront property off Honduras, she didn't realize she'd just bought into a slice of the drug trade
Suitcase Stickers: Guaranteed to Get You Pulled Aside at Airport Security
by Eva Holland | 07.22.10 | 11:54 AM ET
TheCheeky.com is selling these adhesive troublemakers—just $25 for a set of four. Enjoy. (Via Boing Boing)
World Travel Watch: Violence on Guatemala’s Buses, Tourist Police in the Philippines and More
by Larry Habegger | 07.21.10 | 12:35 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: New Trekking in Kashmir, Dengue in Venezuela and More
by Larry Habegger | 07.14.10 | 12:15 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Violence in Guadalajara, Dengue Fever in Puerto Rico and More
by Larry Habegger | 07.07.10 | 11:48 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Striptease at Uluru, Ongoing Strikes in Greece and More
by Larry Habegger | 06.30.10 | 12:11 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Floods in China, Train to Machu Picchu Resumes and More
by Larry Habegger | 06.23.10 | 12:07 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
World Travel Watch: Violence Returns to Medellin, G20 Restrictions in Toronto and More
by Larry Habegger | 06.16.10 | 11:32 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news