As it happened, a number of TV crews were at the south end of the bridge, filming standups about heightened terrorism precautions.
It was then considered prudent to search the cellars on the day before each State Opening of Parliament, a ritual that survives to this day, although now retained as a picturesque custom rather than as a serious anti-terrorism precaution.
The many who were stranded by the transport system's collapse had no choice.London's anti-terrorism precautions are among the most elaborate and well-practised in the world.
Destroying businesses or laboratories with no one inside is certainly criminal but it's not terrorism when every precaution is taken to not harm a human's life -- motivation matters.
Experts on terrorism said security precautions often took a back seat to pressures from industry, the concerns of neighboring governments and even bureaucratic rivalries in the United States government.
Even mountains of garbage, piled on barges destined for the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, left rotting upstream because of precautions against terrorism on the East River.
And with school field trips restricted under new precautions against terrorism, the Internet may offer the most realistic opportunity for a visit.
In the latest round of transportation precautions taken against terrorism, New Jersey often found itself dancing to a tune called by New York City.
The terrorists in question were locked up, a bomb was dropped on an alleged pharmaceutical factory in Sudan and the nation moved on, taking scant precautions against future terrorism and re-embracing the good times.
While that may be an overly pessimistic approach to traveling in these times of terrorism and SARS, there are precautions that older travelers should consider during the vacation season -- especially if they have health problems and are headed to foreign destinations.
What were the precautions that you took, if any, in the course of your research to guard against terrorism?
