6 ms·

Can You Fly Without an ID? (2013)

24 points by _pius 12y ago

autism_hurts 12y ago
You totally can. Buddy lost his ID in Vegas, and flew back. Rattled off his CA DL#, got a putdown, and was good to go.
- a3n 12y ago
  > Rattled off his CA DL#, got a putdown, and was good to go. Can I opt for the non-putdown line?
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - LukeShu 12y ago
    I lost my DL while visiting family a while ago. I was told that without a suitable photo ID, I'd have to do the "enhanced patdown". It was just like every other patdown I've ever been in, except the person took a little more time instead of rushing me through.
  - dalke 12y ago
    No. You get the special line staffed by TSA agents who moonlight as cynical standup comedians used to dealing with hecklers.
- beachstartup 12y ago
  same thing happened to me in vegas. i didn't have to give my DL info, i just had to know the details of the itinerary and then they took me to a back area, searched my bags thoroughly, then let me through to the gate with a normal boarding pass.
bluedino 12y ago
Who's in charge of the the design of that site? Terribly resized image containing the URL, horrible font...
- Someone1234 12y ago
  Looks like it is a Blogger template.
- schnable 12y ago
  It's the mobile version.
kreitje 12y ago
I had some family come out recently and my brother lost his ID a day or 2 before the trip. When going through security on his return flight home, I watched him get taken to the front of line for the scanning machine, ran through these databases right next to the scanners and was cleared a lot faster than other members in my family going through the normal process.
Someone1234 12y ago
This is a little bit of a tangent... Why, in the US, are IDs immediately ignored when they expire? You often read about people being unable to vote, buy alcohol, or travel because their driving licence expired last week. But realistically the whole point of ID checking is to determine if someone is who they say they are. If they have a picture ID, expired or not, which clearly proves that then why not accept it regardless of expiry? The only reason these IDs expire at all is to force you to update the photo and other personal info. PS - I understand why with international travel and passports. Since then you're subject to the foreign entities' rules/stupidity (and airlines can be fined for letting someone travel without a valid passport). I'm mostly asking about inter-US travel.
- zacwest 12y ago
  People can sell or give away expired licenses when they receive a new one. You can't trust an expired license because it implies there's one which _isn't_ expired.
  - simoncion 12y ago
    It took me a long time to think of this, but I feel that it's a solid statement: If you remember that The State replaces "lost" licenses for a small fee, you'll realize why the policy of refusing to accept "expired" licenses is asinine.
  - ChristianBundy 12y ago
    As a twenty-something, I've never heard of anyone selling or giving away an expired ID, as nobody will take it. Instead, you go to DMV and say you lost your ID – they'll charge you $X, and you sell the original for $X+P (where P is your profit margin). > You can't trust an expired license because it implies there's one which _isn't_ expired. This is also untrue. Just because my ID has expired doesn't mean that I've already gone through the steps to get a new ID. An expired ID means that the ID has expired; nothing more, nothing less.
    - itsdevlin 12y ago
gfody 12y ago
IIRC this is powered by an Experian product called PreciseID. It's interesting tech. You can read about it here: http://www.experian.com/assets/government/white-papers/identity-proofing.pdf http://www.experian.com/assets/government/white-papers/ident...
danso 12y ago
A couple weeks ago I flew from NY to SF without any government photo ID. I brought my social security card and school ID (which has a photo)...the TSA agent looked over the cards and said it was fine, as long as I wasn't going overseas. (didn't even get an additional patdown or luggage screening)
- ToastyMallows 12y ago
  Isn't a Social Security card a type of government issued ID? It didn't mention anything about a photo.
  - danso 12y ago
    Not necessarily...when taking on a new job, you have to fill out DHS forms that establish: 1. Identity http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-b-documents http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-b... 2. Authorization to work: http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-c-documents http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-c... A SS card (and birth certificate) falls in that latter category. It cannot alone establish identity.
fnordfnordfnord 12y ago
It's nice to hear that from the horse's mouth, but it kind of misses the point that a lot of the folks who would try to fly without showing ID are trying to make which is that you shouldn't have to ID yourself (at least not to the gov't) in order to fly.
josephschmoe 12y ago
The official TSA blog...did not look anything like I expected it to be.
- adamnemecek 12y ago
  Indeed. And the tone is surprisingly lighthearted.
  - Fuzzwah 12y ago
    Surprising and, I found it, very annoying.
- schnable 12y ago
  it's the mobile version
- kevando 12y ago
  And what 14 year old wrote this?
jmuguy 12y ago
A few years ago I lost my ID on the way to visit a friend in Oakland. I did have a extremely old drivers license that was basically faded to nothing. On my trip home, I presented this to the TSA agent. He proceeded to pull a jewelers monocle out of nowhere, examined the ID, and let me through. That was a weird experience. I hadn't even considered that I might not need an ID at all.
bengali3 12y ago
imagine if you didn't have to tell the airline your identity until the day of the flight (eliminating change fees). I'm guessing airline ticket prices would (ultimately) become less volatile with the introduction of ticket brokers.
godgod 12y ago
Not unless you are an illegal.
godgod 12y ago
Not unless you are an illegal. The TSA is a complete joke with respect to security. The TSA is not there to protect us, it's there to CONDITION us. http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/08/22/TSA-Admits-Illegal-Aliens-Boarding-Planes-Using-Notice-to-Appear-Forms http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/08/22/TSA-Admi... For an agency that has to be perfect 100% of the time to protect us, here is a list of their failures just from this year: http://tsascandals.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/tsa-security-failures-negligence/ http://tsascandals.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/tsa-security-fai... You are being lied to!

24 points by _pius 12y ago

autism_hurts 12y ago

You totally can. Buddy lost his ID in Vegas, and flew back. Rattled off his CA DL#, got a putdown, and was good to go.

a3n 12y ago
> Rattled off his CA DL#, got a putdown, and was good to go. Can I opt for the non-putdown line?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- LukeShu 12y ago
  I lost my DL while visiting family a while ago. I was told that without a suitable photo ID, I'd have to do the "enhanced patdown". It was just like every other patdown I've ever been in, except the person took a little more time instead of rushing me through.
- dalke 12y ago
  No. You get the special line staffed by TSA agents who moonlight as cynical standup comedians used to dealing with hecklers.
beachstartup 12y ago
same thing happened to me in vegas. i didn't have to give my DL info, i just had to know the details of the itinerary and then they took me to a back area, searched my bags thoroughly, then let me through to the gate with a normal boarding pass.

bluedino 12y ago

Who's in charge of the the design of that site? Terribly resized image containing the URL, horrible font...

Someone1234 12y ago
Looks like it is a Blogger template.
schnable 12y ago
It's the mobile version.

kreitje 12y ago

I had some family come out recently and my brother lost his ID a day or 2 before the trip. When going through security on his return flight home, I watched him get taken to the front of line for the scanning machine, ran through these databases right next to the scanners and was cleared a lot faster than other members in my family going through the normal process.

Someone1234 12y ago

This is a little bit of a tangent... Why, in the US, are IDs immediately ignored when they expire? You often read about people being unable to vote, buy alcohol, or travel because their driving licence expired last week. But realistically the whole point of ID checking is to determine if someone is who they say they are. If they have a picture ID, expired or not, which clearly proves that then why not accept it regardless of expiry? The only reason these IDs expire at all is to force you to update the photo and other personal info. PS - I understand why with international travel and passports. Since then you're subject to the foreign entities' rules/stupidity (and airlines can be fined for letting someone travel without a valid passport). I'm mostly asking about inter-US travel.

zacwest 12y ago
People can sell or give away expired licenses when they receive a new one. You can't trust an expired license because it implies there's one which _isn't_ expired.
- simoncion 12y ago
  It took me a long time to think of this, but I feel that it's a solid statement: If you remember that The State replaces "lost" licenses for a small fee, you'll realize why the policy of refusing to accept "expired" licenses is asinine.
- ChristianBundy 12y ago
  As a twenty-something, I've never heard of anyone selling or giving away an expired ID, as nobody will take it. Instead, you go to DMV and say you lost your ID – they'll charge you $X, and you sell the original for $X+P (where P is your profit margin). > You can't trust an expired license because it implies there's one which _isn't_ expired. This is also untrue. Just because my ID has expired doesn't mean that I've already gone through the steps to get a new ID. An expired ID means that the ID has expired; nothing more, nothing less.
  - itsdevlin 12y ago

gfody 12y ago

IIRC this is powered by an Experian product called PreciseID. It's interesting tech. You can read about it here: http://www.experian.com/assets/government/white-papers/identity-proofing.pdf http://www.experian.com/assets/government/white-papers/ident...

danso 12y ago

A couple weeks ago I flew from NY to SF without any government photo ID. I brought my social security card and school ID (which has a photo)...the TSA agent looked over the cards and said it was fine, as long as I wasn't going overseas. (didn't even get an additional patdown or luggage screening)

ToastyMallows 12y ago
Isn't a Social Security card a type of government issued ID? It didn't mention anything about a photo.
- danso 12y ago
  Not necessarily...when taking on a new job, you have to fill out DHS forms that establish: 1. Identity http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-b-documents http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-b... 2. Authorization to work: http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-c-documents http://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents/list-c... A SS card (and birth certificate) falls in that latter category. It cannot alone establish identity.

fnordfnordfnord 12y ago

It's nice to hear that from the horse's mouth, but it kind of misses the point that a lot of the folks who would try to fly without showing ID are trying to make which is that you shouldn't have to ID yourself (at least not to the gov't) in order to fly.

josephschmoe 12y ago

The official TSA blog...did not look anything like I expected it to be.

adamnemecek 12y ago
Indeed. And the tone is surprisingly lighthearted.
- Fuzzwah 12y ago
  Surprising and, I found it, very annoying.
schnable 12y ago
it's the mobile version
kevando 12y ago
And what 14 year old wrote this?

jmuguy 12y ago

A few years ago I lost my ID on the way to visit a friend in Oakland. I did have a extremely old drivers license that was basically faded to nothing. On my trip home, I presented this to the TSA agent. He proceeded to pull a jewelers monocle out of nowhere, examined the ID, and let me through. That was a weird experience. I hadn't even considered that I might not need an ID at all.

bengali3 12y ago

imagine if you didn't have to tell the airline your identity until the day of the flight (eliminating change fees). I'm guessing airline ticket prices would (ultimately) become less volatile with the introduction of ticket brokers.

godgod 12y ago

Not unless you are an illegal.

godgod 12y ago

Not unless you are an illegal. The TSA is a complete joke with respect to security. The TSA is not there to protect us, it's there to CONDITION us. http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/08/22/TSA-Admits-Illegal-Aliens-Boarding-Planes-Using-Notice-to-Appear-Forms http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/08/22/TSA-Admi... For an agency that has to be perfect 100% of the time to protect us, here is a list of their failures just from this year: http://tsascandals.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/tsa-security-failures-negligence/ http://tsascandals.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/tsa-security-fai... You are being lied to!