Drewbot

The TSA recently launched their new security line system, with designated lines for families, casual travelers, and expert travelers. And they work, not by sorting people but by changing them.

The first time I encountered them, I read them with cynicism as I saw the lines backed up for a city block before the signs: travelers were simply choosing the shortest line regardless of label.

The NYT reported on the new program with similar analysis:

The Transportation Security Administration is trying to speed up airport screening by asking passengers to choose a line based on their familiarity with checkpoint procedures. But human nature being what it is, this approach may hit its own snags: people typically opt for the shortest line, and all think they are experts.

“In theory, it’s a good idea. It lets people say, ‘This is my comfort level,’ ” said Steven Frischling, a photographer from Connecticut who encountered the new system in Salt Lake City and Boston. “The problem is, when people show up, everyone thinks they know how to get through security.”

I read the article over coffee in agreement. But last weekend I had to fly again, but with a much earlier flight. The lines weren’t backed up and the signs were clearly visible from the back of the queue. And, I’ll be damned, they worked. Everyone had their papers out, shoes off, laptops out, liquids accounted for–it was the quickest security line I’ve traveled in in the last ten years.

What interested me is that the signs didn’t work as planned: people of all walks thought they were experts, even ones who clearly rarely traveled. However, by reading the signs, they were aware of what steps they would have to take to pass as experts. Seriously: I have NEVER seen people with their ID and boarding pass in hand so consistently throughout the line. Experts don’t behave like this, only people worried of being discovered (being identified as being non-expert) behave in such a prepared fashion.

The signs don’t sort, they change. Cool stuff.