The Bridge or Tunnel in a car registered to my dad?

[srussell252]

We used to go to Canada quite often for the night (bars/casino/Little Italy) and never had a problem and we were never asked for anything other than our ID/Passport. I worked with someone who was from Canada this past year and he traveled back and forth everyday without problem (however he had a work Visa). Are you a citizen of the US (I ask because of your post-name)? If not, you may be questioned more, but it has been my experience they only search cars if they are suspicious of something. We used to camp at the Pinery Campground in Canada and were searched a couple times because our car was loaded gear, however the search did not take long considering how much stuff we had (30 min or so) which I think was attributed to the fact we weren't nervous anything would be found. Since 9/11 I have also seen them do searches of every 10th car (or something to that effect) and we were the unlikely car once. Again, that search lasted only 15 min and we were on our way. Not sure if you will have a lot of stuff in the car, but the less you have the better. When they see cars jam packed with miscellaneous stuff, they will be more likely to search it.

I have Muslim friends who have had issues crossing the border, but they were US citizens and were more harassed by the border agent and were only searched when travelling with family members who had just flown into Toronto from Lebanon - - and in those instances they had full blown interrogations (5+ hours).

I have never been asked for car registration. As far as the tunnel or the bridge - its a crapshoot. I have had back-ups at each. The bridge gets all of the truck traffic, however if I remember correctly they have lanes for passenger vehicles only.

Good luck! If you do have any issues, just remember to be honest and NEVER cop an attitude with the agent, regardless of how rude they can be. If you don't have anything to be nervous about you shouldn't have much delay.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by UKUKUK

Thanks for the replies so far. Any more comments are welcome. Do all cars coming into America get searched? How often do they search going into Canada?

Been across the border thousands of times (Lived in Sault Ste. Marie, as well as by Fort Fairfield, ME) and have been serched twice. Once on each side. Canadian Border Patrol are generally much nicer than the US side, but both can have their days. Second the advice to not get snippy or flippant with either side no matter how stupid their questions seem. I was a smart-azzed 17 year old kid when I tried that... promptly got deported from Canada (that still comes up when I cross the border 29 years later.) Not a bother, but still on the record over there (the reason must be included because most of the guards laugh about me being deported and let me through).

[us66]

Never been asked for proof of insurance or vehicle registration. However, one of those things you see as you drive up to the Customs booth is a camera that takes a picture of your license plate, so I'd think they'd match the license plate to your ID at the booth. The only car registration related thing I ever had was one time when I went to Canada twice in (I think it was) a month. I went to Niagara Falls several times that summer. Also, some people have better luck than others at the border crossing.

[Retroit]

If you are really worried about it, you could have your father write a letter of permission with his contact info that you could carry with you and present to authorities if questioned.