Chez Chesler

FAA officials have decided not to require toddlers under two years of age to occupy their own airline seats, the Bloomberg news service reports. The rationale, according to the FAA, is that parents forced to pay for a toddler's plane ticket might decide to drive instead, putting the family at greater risk than if they flew, Bloomberg reported.

Wouldn't this reasoning apply to older passengers as well? I regularly drive instead of flying because of the costs, not just the cost of the ticket and getting too and from the airport, but the non-economic costs of the "security" measures, which are nothing but show. If I were travelling with other friends or family to the same destination, within about 250 miles, we would almost certainly drive together. Since any people forced to pay for an extra plane ticket might decide to drive instead, should the FAA stop requiring that passengers beyond the first in a party purchase their own tickets?