TSA Orders Searches of Valet Parked Car At Airport 453
schwit1 writes "Laurie Iacuzza walked to her waiting car at the Greater Rochester International Airport after returning from a trip and that's when she found it — a notice saying her car was inspected after she left for her flight. She said, 'I was furious. They never mentioned it to me when I booked the valet or when I picked up the car or when I dropped it off.' Iacuzza's car was inspected by valet attendants on orders from the TSA."
Re:And the story is...? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Outrageous (Score:4, Informative)
Which makes me want to point out that the last time I was in a German airport there was far less of this nonsense. I was even able to keep my shoes on.
Re:And the story is...? (Score:2, Informative)
Sorry, I appear to not be aware of the ethnic slurs used in the UK. This is an American site after all.
Re:And the story is...? (Score:4, Informative)
They can do that already.
Yes, they can. But if they access the locked compartments and I haven't given them permission, that's illegal.
Capability and legality are not always interchangeable.
Re:And the story is...? (Score:4, Informative)
Hey, nobody's perfect! I have a link here somewhere...
Ah, there we go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs [wikipedia.org]
Re:And the story is...? (Score:5, Informative)
in Canada this would actually make it _more_ illegal (oddly enough). By welding it so it is non-functional, that changes the class of firearm from Non-restricted (loosely: rifles) or Restricted (loosely: handguns) to Prohibited (it's now a replica firearm....). Be sure to consult appropriate legal advice before attempting this stunt.
Under Canadian law, deactivated firearms (i.e., those welded up to be non-functional) are a separate legal category from replica firearms. Replica firearms are prohibited devices, deactivated firearms are chunks of metal with no legal status. They have very different legal consequences, despite being indistinguishable without close physical examination (which most police officers will not be trained or interested enough to do).
This makes no sense whatsoever, but is how Canada's firearms laws actually work.
Verification sources: Canada's Firearms Act [justice.gc.ca] and the Canadian Firearm's Program's call centre (1-800-731-4000 from Canada and the U.S.).
Not the TSA (Score:3, Informative)
Re:And the story is...? (Score:5, Informative)
You can't hide a car bomb big enough to cause serious damage to anything outside the car. Successful attacks against structures have, without exception, used unmarked vans and dark-tinted SUVs for a reason.
A valet, entirely without conducting a formal search, can instantly tell whether or not a car poses an explosive threat to the airport. The act of helping the passenger get their bags from the trunk and then driving the car to the long-term lot automatically rules out any plausible hiding spots for enough explosives to make it into a WMD or national security issue.
Not to say, of course, that you couldn't fit enough somewhere in the body of the car to seriously damage the car itself, any occupants, and perhaps break a few windows of nearby cars - The Boston Marathon bombing proved roughly what you can do with a small well-placed bomb; but "Lot Z3" doesn't exactly equal the finish line of a marathon in terms of the number of squishy pink sacks of meat available for embedding shrapnel in.
Re:And the story is...? (Score:4, Informative)
So you are telling me I can own and sell firearm look-a-likes in Canada, as long as they used to be functional, but are no longer.
Yup. As long as it used to be capable of inflicting fatal injuries, it's fine. If it was always harmless, it's verboten.
Welcome to Canada!
TSA said it was not them (Score:5, Informative)
of course, could be lying http://reason.com/blog/2013/07/18/it-wasnt-us-tsa-says-of-car-searches-at [reason.com]
Re:Valet Key (Score:5, Informative)
On my car (2008 Subaru Legacy 2.5i SE, USDM) it actually does. There's a keyhole by the trunk-release lever that can be toggled with the "master" key but not the valet key. It will lock out the lever and prevent the trunk from being opened.
There are keyholes by the rear-seatback-release buttons as well to prevent access to the trunk via folding the rear seats down.