Just curious…but when coming back into the U.S. from accross the border, when you vehicle pulls up to the booth, does the guard know who the owner is of the vehicle? If so, why do they ask? To see if they can catch you in a lie? Just curious for some of the questions I guess. And when crossing the border to Canada, does the guard have access to the NYS DMV records? Do they see the registered owner for the vehicle? Weird because sometimes they asks who car it is and sometimes they dont.
Its a good question to ask, if you say no then it will lead to more probing on why your driving someone elses car. Im sure they can look it up, but doubt they have it instatanous.
I believe any of the crossing that have that camera flash as you pull up have instant plate recognition, and that gives them all the info about the registration.
Being that I was Canadian and crossed all the time back in the day, and was asked practically every question in the book … I do believe that they can tell who the owner of the car is. It is a freq asked question.
Yes they know everything about who the car is registered to before you pull up, they get it while you sitting in the bay waiting to pull up.
No they can not access DMV records. They can only access birth information (if legal of course) and current residence information (US and Canada only).
when I came back from a night of drinking… iwas in the passanger seat at the DD was driving… the patrol knew he was not the owner of the car as he asked “ok,which guy is the owner of the car.”
So no matter who the owner is, all they can see is who owns the car and where the person was born? I thought they had access to info such as if a person had convictions, tickets, run in’s with police.
can they tell if you have a license or not?
They dont care if you have a license. Last time I was told by a guard…a license proves you can drive, it does not prove you are a citizen. I have never been asked for my license. I always use my passport.
lol, good question for you to know. 
although come to think of it one time i crossed and gave them my passport and license and they gave me my license back aying they didnt need it
when are you going to need a passport to cross the bridge?
The passport issue is more for air travelers than persons who drive over. The cut-off date is Feb 20th 2007. If you were to fly into Toronto, you would need to present a passport. If you drive, you do not. Passports require a complete background check so it’s technically a safer way for the guvernmnets to track people.
yeah I know that but I thought in a few years they are going to require it to cross the bridge also.
From what I heard on the news recently, Air travelers 100% drivers, not yet…but in thye future yes. You might as well get a passort. They are good for 10 years. I travel to Europe every year so its a requirement. It makes it so much more easier going to canada too. No hassels about citizenship.
Boarder travel for passport starts Jan 1st 2008 (I believe its the first we just had the debate on Roclife)
Anyways, they can see who it’s registered to because mine is registered to my step dad (diff last name) for insurance reasons and they always ask who is.
I was asked the same question, I told them it was my car, which it was. Then they asked what my job was, i told them.
They are looking for a reason to search your car, to find something… Its quite obvious.
I know they can search anyone they feel like, but why waste their time if there is nothing to suspect?
They ask questions to evaluate you as a person. They are looking for something suspect or a lie. If you are lying or nervous then that means you may have something to hide… That may be drugs, guns, illegals, ect… then they search.
They also seach at random… computer picks you.
what about if u have nitrous in your car and they search it. the bottle would be closed obviously, would they give me shit about it?
If you were giggly and high, I would imagine so :biglol:
lol, was just saying if they popped the trunk and seen it there… dont know if they would do anything