TSA relaxes rules on airport screening for travelers 75 and older
Source: Los Angeles Times
Travelers 75 years old and older will be allowed to leave their shoes and a lightweight jacket on when they pass through airport screenings at four U.S. airports starting Monday, the Transportation Security Administration said Thursday.
It's part of a pilot program that also allows older passengers to pass through metal detectors or body scanners more than once to resolve security issues if an alarm goes off. "We know people in that population and age group pose a lower risk to security," TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers says. "We're trying to reduce the number of pat-downs."
Dankers says the shift is part of the TSA's promise to move away from one-size-fits-all security screenings to a model that focuses on high-risk travelers. However, Dankers says, this doesn't mean older passengers are exempt from pat-downs or extra screening.
The pilot screening program next week will begin at airports in Chicago (O'Hare International Airport), Denver, Portland and Orlando. Not all checkpoints at those airports will have a line for older passengers, and finding one that does may not be the closest one to a passenger's departure gate. Dankers says signs will be up to designate the appropriate checkpoints.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-tsa-older-passengers-revisions-20120315,0,504808.story
= new reply since forum marked as read
Nope, nothing arbitrary about the rules... 
TSA line is SOOOOOO Long - fortunately I had plenty of time.
Of course TSA chooses me for the pornoscan.
Me: I don't really want to do this.
TSA Lady: You can request a pat down instead.
Me: Don't you usually have men pat down men and women pat down women?
TSA Lady: Yes
Me: I'm a gay man and I would like to have a pat down by a lesbian woman
TSA Lady: uuuuuhhhhhhh
Me: OK, I'll do the pornoscan. I'm just trying to make a point
TSA Lady: <look of relief> Sir, please don't call it a "pornoscan"
Me: Well, you can see my genitals, right?
TSA Lady: Well, not me, but...
TSA Baggage scan man: Sir, I need to look inside your bag
Me: OK. I bet I know what you are looking for - two wierd metal objects, right? Care to guess what they are?
TSA Baggage scan man:Sir, please step back and don't touch anything.
Me: OK
TSA Baggage scan man: What is this?
Me:That, sir,is called a monopod. It is just like a tripod except that it has only one leg
TSA Baggage scan man: OIC. And this?
Me: that would be a 25' Fat Max measuring tape.
TSA Baggage scan man:OIC
TSA Baggage scan man:Sir, you can't have this large a tube of toothpaste or this large a tube of shave cream. 3 oz max.
Me: OK. Please throw them away.
TSA Baggage scan man
ont' you want to go out to the parking lot and leave them in your car?
Me: My car is in Louisville, Kentucky. Also, I don't have time to go through the pornoscan again.
TSA Baggage scan man:OK, I'll throw them away. have a nice day.
And then they let throught security with razor blades, the tape measure which would make a FINE weapon, and the monopod which could also do some serious damage! But, it's good to know my flight will be safe because they threw away my toothpaste.
