Use of Fear

In the United States, trials have been used to determine whether security detectors can be installed in train and metro stations. These were studied because of an apparent threat of attacks by "terrorist" elements on US' transportation systems, and because of the Madrid and London bombing attacks.

However, in both Madrid and London, extra security and improvements in camera technology have been made, but installing so-called security metal detectors have not been done. One, installing detectors places a huge inconvenience on the populace from using the fastest means of transportation. It would force commuters to utilise the buses or taxis in order to get to their destination rather than waiting in a queue unnecessarily. Oh wait, they did bomb a London bus, so that means in order to preserve security, we should install metal detectors for passengers to walk through while entering the vehicle. Let's see how long that will take. Also, the increased use of taxis would cause an increase in traffic jams and furthering more inconvenience for the traveller.

But wait, this is all done to protect us. But how can you make a system 100% safe. People can still get into fights on a train, or knifed or strangled for example. The train could suffer a derailment or a loss of electrical power due to a downed transformer or loss of signal. These transportation systems were a means of convenience for the populace so they can get to point B from point A without using their personal transportation vehicle. They are also used by millions of commuters in order to work in the city from the suburbs.

Who know if you asked a fellow commuter about installing a metal detector at every train station, would he/she feel safe about it? The most likely answer would be "only if it adds a few minutes to my trip." For a metro system size like New York City and DC, a few minutes is the only thing that can be tolerated, but if you try to get people through a metal detector at busy Union Station, it will take much more than that. People talk about making compromises, but in reality, we all take a risk in our daily lives to get to work. There will always be a chance of getting into an accident, but we take the risk knowing that as long we keep ourselves safe and vigilant, we will survive. This is based on our own personal responsibility. We cannot sacrifice everything convenient for security... imagine security guards and detectors at supermarkets, movie theatres, museums, and restaurants. A security-addict society just because of fear. I thought we were not going down that road, but it seems we are.