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It's not fear. It's the PITA factor. I have no desire to subject myself to an interrogation, a search of my vehicle, a search of my laptop or any other electronic device, possible confiscation of the radar detector I have legally used on my way to get to the border crossing, or anything else that happens either randomly or because the guard doesn't like the way I look. And from most things I've read here, it's harder to get back into your own country than it is to go out of the country. It's all ridiculous and I refuse to be a part of it.If I don't have any warrants, don't have a past record, am not on any watch lists and don't fit any profiles (neither my name nor my appearance should set off any alarms), then I shouldn't be detained at a border crossing any longer than it would take for me to pay a toll at a toll booth. The technology exists already to scan license plate numbers in the line and have the vehicle registration information displayed on a screen to a guard at the booth. That and a cursory check of the driver's license should be all it takes for most people.I'm as big an advocate for border security as you'll find anywhere, but this oft-described theater is just overkill.
The technology exists already to scan license plate numbers in the line and have the vehicle registration information displayed on a screen to a guard at the booth. That and a cursory check of the driver's license should be all it takes for most people.
In any case, it certainly doesn't rise to the level where I'd ever consider avoiding an entire country, If it did, I'd also have to avoid ever entering a court house, traveling by air, or visiting certain tourist attractions, all of which are at least as difficult as crossing the Canadian border.
Or they agents don't like someone's attitude. They've been known to, for example, give people grief who decide to give them no more information than they are legally required to (which amounts to a verbal declaration of citizenship for interior checkpoints); easy enough to do, since they've trained the dogs to respond to a signal with a signal of possible drugs to justify a search.
Since nobody there even knows how swiped cards work, those are what lead to the slower transaction.
Contactless doesn't strike me as a good idea. I certainly don't want someone stealing all my card details with an RFID chip reader. They tried that in the US and it flopped, big time.
Quote from: empirestate on June 19, 2016, 12:18:19 AMSince nobody there even knows how swiped cards work, those are what lead to the slower transaction.We know how they work (at least people over about 30 should, if they grew up here. 40 if they grew up across the Channel), we just don't really have the equipment anymore to do it.
Contactless doesn't strike me as a good idea. I certainly don't want someone stealing all my card details with an RFID chip reader.