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TSA Orders Searches of Valet Parked Car At Airport

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."

11 of 453 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And the story is...? by LouTheTroll · · Score: 5, Informative

    Living in Rochester, I actually caught this on a local news station and there was a lot more information. The concern (and perhaps the story) isn't so much the searching (as their rational is that those vehicles are often parked at the entrance and exit lanes blah blah blah) but that the searching is being done by the valets instead of TSA or law enforcement. These individuals (at the moment) are not trained and have no oversight. So when the thefts and such start occurring, you have zero recourse and absolutely no hope of resolution. The point being that we have can assume some level of trust with TSA and law enforcement as they have oversight and procedures to reduce these type of theft events but there's nothing in place with this valet program in Rochester atm. (And please don't flame me about assume a level of trust with the TSA and law enforcement, I'm just trying to provide more information and some context.)

  2. Re:Outrageous by h4rr4r · · Score: 3, 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.

  3. Re:And the story is...? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1, Informative

    Sorry, I appear to not be aware of the ethnic slurs used in the UK. This is an American site after all.

  4. Re:And the story is...? by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 3, 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.

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  5. Re:And the story is...? by RMingin · · Score: 3, Informative

    Hey, nobody's perfect! I have a link here somewhere...

    Ah, there we go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs

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  6. Re:And the story is...? by Zirbert · · 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 and the Canadian Firearm's Program's call centre (1-800-731-4000 from Canada and the U.S.).

  7. Not the TSA by JelloJoe · · Score: 3, Informative

    The TSA is not involved in the Rochester airport. Little known fact, but airports are allowed to hire private security companies to do the passenger screening again as long as they follow TSA guidelines.

  8. Re:And the story is...? by pla · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you have never heard of car bombs, you should start watching international news.

    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.

  9. Re:And the story is...? by Zirbert · · 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!

  10. TSA said it was not them by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 4, Informative
  11. Re:Valet Key by CelticWhisper · · Score: 4, 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.

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