sammy0623

So I went to return my rental the other night at BNA, and there was a security guard looking at the Rental Agreement, checking ID, and looking in the trunks of all the rental cars.

When I asked her why she needed to see my ID, she said it was to make sure I matched the person on the rental agreement...so I showed her my worn out student ID.

Next time, I think I'll just refuse, and turn my car off and sit there.

Are there other airports like this?

wb8iny

I had to do it last week returning a car at Corpus Christi (CRP), but I think it had to do with the fact that it was a "common" lot shared by all of the rental agencies, and was right next to the terminal (hence the security/trunk search)...

mkt

huh... that's very new to me. I've never once been asked for ID when returning the car.

ralfp

What do either of these have to do with a driver's ID?

sammy0623

not sure either...i guess its similar to TSA, this lady doesn't know a legitimate ID from a good fake, or what my school ID would look like (and it's 5 years old, taped over, faded). plus, her search of the trunk was less than thorough...all she did was look what was in the trunk. surprisingly, i had a couple of suitcases in there, which apparently didn't look like bomb-carrying suitcases, as she closed it right back up.

also, what exactly does she do if i had a bomb just sitting in the trunk? i could just floor it and she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop me. but i digress...

it was a shared return area about ~50 feet or so from the entrance to the terminal

mbstone

And some laughed when I warned against the creation of centralized airport rent-a-car facilities -- especially when I characterized them as "Soviet." I was ranting against the shuttle drivers becoming public employees with no allegiance to the rental company to give them an incentive to be pleasant and helpful.

Turns out the Soviet centralski rental depot is just one more place where your papers have to be in order.

exerda

Wow. I would refuse; if they demurred, I'd take the keys and rental agreement to the drop box. If they prevented me from getting into the lot, I'd probably park right outside, then drop the keys in the box.

coachrowsey

When I returned my rental car to STL they just got me out of there very quickly^

joediver

I Just returned a car to National last week at BNA and did not get asked for any ID. In the 15 years I've been traveling I've never been asked for ID when returning a car. I've even left town early from vacations and had my wife drop the car off with no questions asked.

Wally Bird

Yes, been asked at JFK and also not been asked at JFK. And somewhere else which I can't remember.

Like most of this security nonsense it seems to be at the whim of the rentacop on duty. It only p*sses me off mildly and not worth fighting over - I just snicker/snort and sometimes .

(I think if you just 'dumped' it outside the lot, they would ding you for a parking ticket and towing charges. You really want that ?)

Smailtronic

I've been asked to see my id and the rental agreement when leaving some of the centralized/garage style lots but never upon return. That's just odd.

BNA_flyer

I think this has to do with the rental car lots being so close to the terminal building at BNA (basically adjacent to the main building and at the base of the parking structure)...the authorities are paranoid that someone will stuff a bomb in a trunk and detonate it right in the rental lot. I've never been asked for ID, but I have been asked to let them check the trunk. BTW, the "big boys" (Hertz/Avis/National) are under the parking structure and don't check trunks in general, it's the lower-end companies (Thrifty, Dollar) that have lots closer to the terminal and have the checkpoint at the return entrance (at least that was the situation last time I was there).

I've always liked BNA's rental-car setup for its lack of an offsite facility and those damned shuttle buses--I hope this doesn't change.

ralfp

Perhaps my chemistry is a bit weak, but I'd love to know how demanding ID prevents bombs from detonating.

Do they also require presentation of a magic anti-bomb rock?

That being said, I somehow doubt that all cars are fully searched (a process that takes enough time to make it unfeasible) before entering the area around the terminal. Drive car to terminal, walk away, detonate bomb. How could one stop car bombs without fully searching all cars or having tow trucks that are instantaneous and having police enforce the "No Parking" rules with lethal force?

sammy0623

the rental was from enterprise, which is right there at the terminal. i'll prob be back at BNA in December, renting from Enterprise, so I'll be sure to let you know what goes down then...

the thing that makes it even worse is that we're not talking a search of the car/trunk/luggage. i'm talking about a cursory look at the trunk. and only the trunk. not the back seat. not what's in the luggage. not the underbody.

i wouldn't dump the car, i'd just turn it off and sit there, and let the line build up (i was trying to avoid an hourly charge, and I knew I was cutting close as it was)

bocastephen

I won't be flying to BNA anytime soon, but perhaps one of our like-minded TS/S brethren who is can refuse to show their ID at return and let us know what happens?

OP: was there some sort of barricade preventing you from passing until you were cleared, or could you just flip the rent-a-cop the bird and drive on through?