News Flying to the US? Watch your lithium

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/01/02/flying_to_us_lithium_limits/1

If you're a traveller going to or through the US, you're going to be restricted in the quantity of spare lithium-based batteries you can take for your power-hungry gadgets under new DOT rules.

 

Seems a little bit like paranoia, no?

 

Damnit, is it me or are they trying to give people reasons not to fly. IT'S A CONSPIRACY!

</tinfoil hat>

 

That seems to be the American governments stance on most thing though.

 

Don't take it off, that'll give the man a chance to get you!

 

Valid point.

 

this remembers me of the liquid paranoia.... do they still prohibit the transport of liquids with you on the plane? i hate it when people run around like headless chickens screaming that the sky is falling when they hear about something exploding somewhere and then ban its transport everywhere...... NEWS FLASH, this just in, JET FUEL EXPLODES!!!!!!! US Department of Transport have prohibited its transport in planes.

 

Nothing else to be expected when those in power have set them selves out to create a police state, same thing is going on over here.

 

Ridiculous. I already thought things got out of hands with the liquids, and now this... I do have gadgets with me when I'm travelling (lotsa camera batteries) and I had enough problems in Heathrow last summer getting to the plane with all the stuff (Hmm do I want to put a 1,4 k€ laptop or 2 k€ worth of camera equipments to the cargo, let's see...).

Flying is already hard enough with the two-hour waitings, please stop making it any harder.

 

I can see this as a concern for safety, considering that there is a chance that an exploding battery could cause a fire. in theory. In real life its like cell phones, you can use them, I use mine all the time. The pilots who fly me around hate it because they get interference in their headsets. I didn't believe it until I sat up front one day. I was sending text messages with my phone and every time it sent or received one i could hear it in the headset.
it does get annoying. I cant imagine a plane with 200 people using their phones. the pilots would go nuts listening to all that interference.

So in the end its not something that is really necessary, but would you like to be on a plane thats on fire because someone had a battery explode? its a risk vs consequences thing, low risk, but massive consequences.

honestly i'd be more concerned about some nutjob terrorist taking the junk ot of a battery and filling it with tnt.

 

lithium-metal batteries, not lithium-ion. your gadgets should be fine.

 

Thanks Megalomaniac, paranoid, American DOT.

You've shown us again how very astute you are.

Now, I don't have to worry about a laptop battery exploding or catching fire in the BOTTOM of the plane.
NO! Now I have to worry about the ****ing thing exploding or catching fire in MY FACE.

And I am really loving the "things to Remember" section!

"Purchase your laptop Batteries from a RELIABLE SOURCE"
DAMN! That Chinese drug selling whore is no long a good option for my batteries?

"Avoid Dropping laptop computers or Other Devices"
Thanks Eagle Eyes. You really nailed it this time. I am so stupid, I always forget not to drop my laptop.



Thanks
What would I do without you guys??

 

Hasn't this one already been debunked?
It only concerns lithium-metal batteries as supertoad said. The rest is rumor mill.
http://gizmodo.com/338676/rumor-smashed-the-faa-isnt-banning-laptop-batteries

 

I rarely fly anywhere so I could care less

 

well personally i see where they are coming from. I fly model aircraft here in the us and i have seen the dangers of using lithium batteries of any type. esp lithium polymer batteries. here back in like 2006 a ups plane had to make a emergency landing because a container of lithium batteries either blew up or just caught fire and set the whole plane ablaze. people really do take for granted these lithium batteries and dont see how dangerous they can be.