How long will it take, for those baggage checkers to learn the difference between Li-ion and alkaline “AA” or “AAA” batterys.
Has anyone ever had one blow or burn up in luggage, travel bag, etc…???
Is this the government going too far to protect flyers??
http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html
Perki…Except that these regs have nothing to do with terrorism. I was mostly wondering if anyone had experience with batterys blowing up, or catching fire. I have had more problems with 9volt alkaline than any other.
Do other countrys require their travelers to do the same, when coming to the US?
So you carry them on. Having lost a relative on 9/11 I would prefer to err on the side of caution and pray for a day when we won’t have to worry about creative terrorists.
To respond, the only batteries I had blow up were my rechargable for my Metz and it was plugged into the wall outlet when it started smoking.
And as for the thumbs down, yes, losing a young man who had two infants has had a lasting effect on me. Hope you never have to experience it.
I agree – Governments tend to use bureaucratic sledgehammers to crack walnuts… thereby furthering the terrorists aims by causing maximum inconvenience to joe public.
yes, they’ve gone way overboard. to add to michael’s answer, they’re not even walnuts, they’re imaginary walnuts.
I never check my computer or cameras when flying. I cannot risk loosing either of them and attempting to complete a shoot with some of the camera systems parts missing because of lost luggage, is not an option.
The X-Ray and other technologies used on the checked baggage can be deadly to all manner of devices.
My “purse” is my notebook and my carry-on has all my camera gear in it.
While traveling throughout the Caribbean, I have found that the regulations are quite similar to those in the States.
My guess is there have been some incidences with Li-ion batteries in the past, thus the regulation modifications.
Responding to the first response: By far the most dangerous thing on a plane is the people. Using your logic why not just ban people. Obviously this is tongue and cheek, but we need to have rules, but sensible ones. We can now have 3 ounces of liquid under the assumption that 6 can take down a plane. I think the terrorists have already figured out that they can get two or three of them together and mix their liquids to 6-12 ounces. So many of the rules are there to just make us feel safer rather than actually make us safer. There is risk in everything we do and in order to live your life you have to accept risk.
That’s why I got my own plane. I hate public air travel anymore! What a hassle.
My little 150 can get me and my wife to Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. That’s good enough for me.
If we want to travel out of the country we take a cruise to Belize or the Yucatan.
Rechargeable batteries can and do catch fire more often than you might think. Canon’s BP-511s, among many others, have a warning about the exposed terminals, so this might not be as nutty a move as it could at first glance.
Is it likely to happen with standard AA or AAA rechargeables? Maybe not as likely, but it’s certainly possible.
And just a couple quick examples of batteries going awry:
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=3575
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=11227