Monday, November 22, 2010

Analyst: TSA methods 'will kill more Americans on highway'

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Echoing a thought I've had recently, but not yet voiced, about the comparative safety of driving and flying, a couple of experts have weighed in on some "unintended consequences" of the TSA's new scan and grope routines, which they say will be a tipping point for some in putting them back on the highways rather than in the "friendly skies".


As the nation readies for one of the busiest traveling holidays, Steven Horwitz, a professor of economics at St. Lawrence University, told The Hill that the probable spike in road travel, caused by adverse feelings towards the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) new screening procedures, could also lead to more car-related deaths.

“Driving is much more dangerous than flying, as you are far more likely to be killed in an automobile accident mile-for-mile than you are in an airplane,” said Horwitz. “The result will be that the new TSA procedures will kill more Americans on the highway.”

Clifford Winston, a senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institute, stopped short of saying that more people could die as a result of the TSA policies, but said that the airline industry will definitely see a decline in passengers if the public’s contempt for the pat-downs and advanced-imaging technology systems continues.


And statistically, more people will die if the miles driven increases and sky miles decrease. But, hey! What are a few more dead people compared to the opportunity to grope some hot co-ed or strip search a child or a nun?

H/T WC Varones

Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.

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