Less salt in the wound: Solo traveler savings

In response to the Christmas Day bomber in 2009, the Transportation Security Administration pursued its plan to place full-body scanners at all American airports. Since then, the TSA has faced a barrage of criticism regarding privacy and safety concerns. But a new report released Monday by The Archives of Internal Medicine tries to assuage safety concerns, stating that there is no significant threat of radiation from TSA's full-body scanners, even among frequent flyers. "Based on what is known about the scanners, passengers should not fear going through the scans for health reasons, as the risks are truly trivial," the report states. Individuals are routinely exposed to ionizing radiation from everyday life, the study claims, and the scans deliver an amount of radiation equivalent to three to nine minutes of the radiation received through normal daily living. The study says that the backscatter x-ray scanner, the full-body scanner used more commonly in the United States, delivers only a small fraction of the energy of a cell phone. The study also says the doses of radiation are exceedingly low compared with those routinely received in the health care context: An individual would have to undergo more than 50 airport scans to equal the exposure of a single dental radiograph, 1,000 airport scans to equal the exposure of a chest radiograph, 4000 airport scans to equal the exposure of a mammogram, and 200,000 airport scans to equal the exposure of a single abdominal pelvic computed tomographic scan. If you have a fear of the minimal radiation exposure, the researchers suggest avoiding flying altogether, as naturally occurring radiation is higher at the altitudes of commercial air flights because of the greater proximity to the sun. The backscatter x-ray scans deliver radiation equivalent to around one to thee minutes of flight time. Put into context of an entire six-hour flight, the scan will increase a woman's exposure by less than 1 percent. But as much as this report tries to lesson the safety concerns of the scanners, it doesn't do much to dissuade us of the privacy concerns. The scanners have the ability to store and export scanned images, functions the TSA says are only used for testing, evaluation, and training, whereas the scanners used in airports cannot save or export images. "Even with these assurances," the study claims, "reports of tens of thousands of scanner images that were improperly saved and disseminated have raised concerns as to whether these assertions are true." Public unease with these scans exists not only due to the health and privacy concerns, but also, according to the study, because the TSA does not permit independent assessment of the machines. "It would seem prudent for the TSA to permit additional testing to verify the safety of the devices." Update: The Federal Marshall Service, not the TSA, improperly saved and disseminated scanned images. According to Rebecca Smith-Bindman, one of the authors of this study, they received no funding for this study and have never received funding from the TSA. What do you think about TSA's full body scanners? Do you have health and privacy concerns? MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Today's travelers are more empowered than ever (plus: other emerging travel trends) News: Highway 1 hit by massive mudslides Hilarious new safety video from Air New Zealand

Happy #ThrowbackThursday! This blog post was one of the first ones I ever wrote for Budget Travel back when I first started out as an Online Editorial Intern in 2011. #TBT In the latest off-the-wall safety demonstration video from Air New Zealand, exercise guru Richard Simmons makes sure everyone onboard is 'Fit to Fly.' This three minute and thirty-seven second spot of airline safety was shown [on flights in 2011] in all its sequined glory. Everyone in the video looks like they had a great time filming, including Amazing Race host, Phil Keoghan, who has a cameo toward the middle. Simmons and the rest of the flight crew, decked out in ultimate 80s exercise fashion and sweating to the beat, take you through the usual airline warm-ups—putting on your seat belt, stowing your baggage and knowing what to do in case of an emergency—with such flair you almost wish every airline safety video was this exciting. When demonstrating how to lift baggage into the overhead compartment and store it under the seat, Simmons yells, "Stretch and slide! Yeah! You're a giraffe!" He later encourages passengers to count the rows ("and two...three...four") to the emergency door closest to their seats. In a demonstration showing the airplane's exits and explaining how the emergency lights will turn on, he says, "Come on everyone, let's pony!" and leads the crew to safety. This is not the first wacky safety-demo video to come out of Air New Zealand. In 2009, we wrote about the controversial "Bare Essentials of Safety" video in which the flight crew appeared covered in nothing but body paint to resemble their uniforms. Is this the craziest airline safety video you've ever seen? Who would you like to see in one? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Many travelers prize an authentic, locally sourced souvenir. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('1521e6e3-3e7f-47a7-8af3-e72c43a26923');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)I define "souvenir" as something you buy during a trip as a memento. It doesn't have to be sold at a tourist gift shop. Is it important to you that your souvenir be made locally? If so, why? Is it because you want to support local businesses? Or to accurately capture what the local vibe is like? Souvenirs have become political in our nation's capital—surprise, surprise. Congressmen have pressured the National Museum of American History to stock only "made in the U.S.A." products. Soon, the shelves of one of the museum's gift shops will only sell American goods, reports the Washington Post. But there's a wider relevance here to the question of where souvenirs come from. If you're traveling a great distance on your precious vacation time—here or abroad—would you want to buy a memento that is different from what you can get at your hometown shopping mall? If you're visiting Moscow, would you want Matryoshkas made locally—and not in China? When vacationing in Venice, would you want glassware made at the local factories of Murano, instead of in China? Ditto for rug shopping in Istanbul. Shopping local is a way to help the businesses that give a place the qualities worth visiting. Please speak up in the comments. Do you look for authentic, locally sourced goods when shopping on a vacation? MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Supermarket Souvenirs: Five globe-trotting shoppers share their unusual goodies from around the world. 20 Museum Gifts from Around the World A slide show How to Haggle Like an Expert Bizarre Traveler Behavior What's the Deal With Duty-free?

Some rental cars are safer than others. USA Today crunched the numbers on new makes and models rented by the eight largest U.S. chains. The paper relied on ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. One out of four cars have "poor" ratings in a few types of accidents: side, rear, and rollover. USA Today found six 2011 vehicles and one 2010 vehicle with "poor" side-impact crash ratings: the Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, the Volkswagen New Beetle, the two-door Jeep Wrangler, GMC Canyon, the Chevrolet Colorado with a crew cab, and the 2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser. Three 2010 vehicles — the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the Infiniti M35 and the Hummer H3 — are rated "poor" in rear-crash ratings. The safest small, economy-class 2011 cars are the four-door Honda Civic, the Mitsubishi Lancer, and the Subaru Impreza. More details at USA Today. How about with you? Have you ever considered safety when picking a rental car? MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Hot deal! Arizona car rentals for $5 a day from Hertz Rental cars: AutoSlash may find cheaper rates than you Hipmunk: Finding "ecstasy" in affordable lodging