What strikes me is how few reports on this issue attempt to quantify the risks involved. Well over 30K people die each year in the US in traffic accidents (htt

What strikes me is how few reports on this issue attempt to quantify the risks involved. Well over 30K people die each year in the US in traffic accidents (http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/stats.html http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/stats.html) whereas only about 3K have died in the past 10 years due to airline terrorism. Hence the risk of being killed in a traffic accident is on the order of 100 times greater than that of being killed by a terrorist attack against aviation. Now consider how willing most drivers are to trade a marginal increase in accident risk for a marginal increase in convenience (say driving 10 MPH over the posted speed limit to arrive at one's destination early). In light of these risk preferences it is hardly surprising that many travelers are outraged at being forced by the government to undergo a humiliating and degrading procedure for such a minimal (and disputed at that) decrease in risk.