We’re sure 99.99% of airport security people are totally honest. Wish we could say the same about politicians. However, airport thefts do happen. A recent news item told of an arrest at Newark Airport of a security guy who’s suspected of regularly swiping valuables from bags going through the x-ray, moving belt and bag search areas.

To totally avoid such a theft ever happening when you fly, just follow some simple rules:

Do I look to the right, or do I look left before crossing the street in this country?

According to the State Department, a thousand American tourists have been killed in traffic accidents in each of the past seven years while traveling in foreign countries. This is far more than those killed by street crimes and terrorist acts.

One of the main causes is unfamiliarity with traffic patterns, especially in Great Britain, where the lanes are the opposite of those in the U.S. The accidents, usually at night, happen to pedestrians who look the wrong way before stepping into the street.

One such accident almost changed history, and it happened to a British visitor who made that same type of mistake when he looked the wrong way before stepping into a New York City street in the 1920s. Young Winston Churchill was hit by a taxicab, nearly killed and spent months in the hospital. 

The same danger faces American tourists who rent cars in England and other countries where traffic rules are different. Other accidents that injure and kill American tourists involve hiring or riding in unsafe cars, taxis and buses.

When traveling on unfamiliar streets, know the rules and be extra careful when you venture out on them.

Well, not really a very fast breeze these days, but if you do it right, at least you can avoid the usual snail’s pace . Here are some suggestions for easing your way:

1. Wear easy-off shoes, sandals and boots. Nothing is so awkward in the security line as when you’re juggling tickets, purses, computers, tickets and other stuff, and then have to stoop over to remove or put on footwear. Make it at least a bit less inconvenient if you can get barefoot in a hurry.

2. Wear a jacket or vest with lots of pockets when going through security. Have all papers and other documents ready ready to be displayed.

3. Yeah, we know all the gripes about the body scans, and how they’re getting more embarrassing as new ones are invented. If you must go through the ordeal, keep calm and courteous. The scan person is just doing a job and has heard it all before.

4. Know the no-no rules about stuff you can’t carry through security, and be sure to leave it with your checked bags before you must go through the delays caused by your thoughtless error. Be sure your laptop is in approved bag with open flap in case it is inspected.

And, for your own peace of mind, get to the airport early, so the ordeal won’t also include running to a gate that has just closed. Be prompt, not sorry.

Flying on commercial airlines seems to be getting more stressful all the time. Name any complaint and every passenger these days can gripe about a personal occasion when it happened.

However, there are times when passengers go beyond angripes, and actually put themselves and others in danger by losing control. Something makes people to snap in flight, and we seem to see about it in the news almost every day.

Recently   cite example an unruly passenger on a flight bound for Amsterdam forced pilots to return the plane to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shortly after take-off.