Do not use US 395---Dangerous!

[FIGJAM]

I'm a little surprised that you don't think an upstanding, law abiding citizen can have their belongings tossed "just in case" Capt.

[melodiousdirge]

All they would find is a licensed, insured, properly loaded vehicle whose driver has a clean record and no warrants, carrying no illegal substances. If that puts me in the minority, then guess why they are so suspicious!!


Oh wait. I keep forgetting. Burning Man is about doing drugs in the desert. Right?
Can't be without that shit for even a few days. And then you bitch that the cops are all over it.

I'm more pissed at the people who bring shit they get caught with and bringing all this on .... well, ME!

I like how you missed the point completely.

So they find nothing and send you on your way. Your civil rights violated, your time wasted, and all your shit rifled through. Most of us would like to avoid that.

[skippy3k]

Something else to consider is that a large number of burners are travelling from states where certain substances are legal for recreational and/or medical use that are NOT legal in NV. Someone who regularly transports one of said substances in their vehicle could trigger a dog without actually having done anything wrong.

Ok, now I totally agree with you there. This is my first burn since moving to Colorado. It never even occurred to me that we would be profiled based on the recent pot laws here. (I'm sort of slow that way.) A friend of mine clued me into it. And yes, we would be profiled. He has ties to law enforcement. I trust what he told me.

Here's the kicker...our trailer is stuck in the registration process, so all I have is one of those temporary registration papers in a ziplock bag zip tied to the license plate frame. My truck has Colorado plates. Our trailer will be decorated very ridiculously. We might as well have a sign saying "I dare a cop to pull me over."

(That being said, we are hoping to have it registered before the event.)

[remi]

I got an awesome story along these lines!

My ex was a police officer, probation officer and US marshall, pretty much since he was 21.

We had lived together a few years in an apartment and then built a house. We had a bunch of his law enforcement buddies over helping us move.

We all went to pick up the larger half of the sectional sofa and flipped it on it's side to get it out down the hall and out the door. Blammo! A small, ancient, rubberband rotted away baggie of pot seeds and stems falls out of the couch in front of all these cops!

Now neither my ex or I smoke, let alone do drugs and everyone there knew it so it was no big deal other than the insane amount of comments made as to whether they should drug-drop us both right there on the spot

We never did figure out how the stuff got there, especially given the couch came from his dad's house and his dad definitely always struck me as a guy who fired up now and then.

That was over 8 years ago and I can still remember seeing that baggie hit the floor...

That reminds me of a story when my stoner friend lost a qp of herbs.. which is a large freezer bag for those of you who don't know. A couple years later another buddy (who purchased this couch off stoner,) and I trying to move a sectional downstairs in a house and gets it stuck.. the only way out, is to break it out. So we proceed to dismantle this couch for the purpose of using it for firewood and then BLAM.. and qp falls onto the ground. I just called my buddy and told him to come over and grab his 2 year old shit. He was more then happy.

[Savannah]

Something else to consider is that a large number of burners are travelling from states where certain substances are legal for recreational and/or medical use that are NOT legal in NV. Someone who regularly transports one of said substances in their vehicle could trigger a dog without actually having done anything wrong.

Ok, now I totally agree with you there. This is my first burn since moving to Colorado. It never even occurred to me that we would be profiled based on the recent pot laws here. (I'm sort of slow that way.) A friend of mine clued me into it. And yes, we would be profiled. He has ties to law enforcement. I trust what he told me.

I'm expecting to be profiled too, even though being profiled is pretty goofy to me, because:

* 1/2 the people coming from these states know perfectly well that greater attention is now on them.
* the attraction might actually be less, because it can be indulged in the rest of the year.

[jneilvindy]

All they would find is a licensed, insured, properly loaded vehicle whose driver has a clean record and no warrants, carrying no illegal substances. If that puts me in the minority, then guess why they are so suspicious!!


Oh wait. I keep forgetting. Burning Man is about doing drugs in the desert. Right?
Can't be without that shit for even a few days. And then you bitch that the cops are all over it.

I'm more pissed at the people who bring shit they get caught with and bringing all this on .... well, ME!

Well you HOPE that's all they find. I assume they will find whatever it is they want to find. You just may not know how it got into your vehicle.

[forty_eight]

it sucks that people got profiled (broadly speaking - there was likely some infraction that was used as basis for getting pulled over for further questioning/search), but from what i heard, there were under 20 arrests from the "saturation patrol".

if that is some kind of clear and present danger, then that's a pretty broad standard.

so, i'm filing this under hyperbole.

http://www.sierrawave.net/26242/conduct ... on-patrol/

seems like the patrol ended on the Sunday before the event, fwiw.

[FossaFerox]

All they would find is a licensed, insured, properly loaded vehicle whose driver has a clean record and no warrants, carrying no illegal substances. If that puts me in the minority, then guess why they are so suspicious!!


Oh wait. I keep forgetting. Burning Man is about doing drugs in the desert. Right?
Can't be without that shit for even a few days. And then you bitch that the cops are all over it.

I'm more pissed at the people who bring shit they get caught with and bringing all this on .... well, ME!

I like how you missed the point completely.

So they find nothing and send you on your way. Your civil rights violated, your time wasted, and all your shit rifled through. Most of us would like to avoid that.

This. A drug dog would likely get a hit on my car because my neighbors smoke. Some days when I start my car in the morning *I* can smell it come through the vent when the AC first turns on. I don't smoke, but my shit will still get tossed if I'm stopped. Part of why I'm not taking my car this year.

[BoyScoutGirl]

...
http://www.sierrawave.net/26242/conduct ... on-patrol/
...

Thanks for finding some hard data. Certainly shows that the checkpoints are put there with the explicit and acknowledged intent of finding drugs.

What surprised me is that somebody was arrested for possessing Adderall and Xanax without a prescription. A good remind to bring your 'scripts with you!

[Zipper]

[quote="Captain Goddammit"]All they would find is a licensed, insured, properly loaded vehicle whose driver has a clean record and no warrants, carrying no illegal substances. If that puts me in the minority, then guess why they are so suspicious!!


Oh wait. I keep forgetting. Burning Man is about doing drugs in the desert. Right?
Can't be without that shit for even a few days. And then you bitch that the cops are all over it.

I'm more pissed at the people who bring shit they get caught with and bringing all this on .... well, ME![/quote]

It's unfortunate you feel so put upon. All the law breakers at Burning Man are not going to magically change their behavior overnight any more than will law breakers in your home town. Like it or not, this has been going on at Burning Man prior to your arrival on the playa, and likely will not change substantially in the near future either. Be that as it may be, I'm sure that there is a lawbreaker or two out there that will feel your anger and pain and change their ways.

The whole point of this post is to make people aware of real circumstances so that they can make choices to improve their safety and well being. I stand by my statement that, in mutiple catergories of risk, 5 and 99 are safer routes than 395.

[skippy3k]

Daaaaammmmnnn. Those people were seriously carrying. Sheesh, my high school years were nothing compared to that list.

[VultureChow]

I feel like now is the appropriate time to point out that this is the one week a year during which most of us will ever be profiled.

Imagine living like this every day.

[Captain Goddammit]

I traveled to Reno from Socal via US 395 in 2013. There was HEAVY law enforcement presence all along the route. An actual traffic stop in Bridgeport I went through included canine units. I'm 60+ and don't look like a Burner with my RV and drab colors, so I had no problem. Folks from my camp, traveling in the middle of a caravan, elsewhere on the same route, were pulled over for a tailight malfunction. It ended up in a search and and a posession charge. Don't risk it! go the 5 or 99 from Socal. That's what I'm doing this year, even though I love the scenery on 395, the enforcement activity ruins it.

Nope, I didn't miss any point. Someone in my own camp got a possession charge after getting pulled over for bikes blocking their license plate.
The original poster's camp mate, and my own camp mates, got THEMSELVES into trouble. Sure, none of us want our civil rights violated. But guess why it's happening? If I get stopped and run through the wringer, it'll suck, and it's pretty much the fault of all of you who give the cops very good reason to suspect burners!
The route isn't dangerous. Being an idiot is.

[pink]

I don't go up 395 since I come from Sacramento, but many of my campmates do, and I've not heard of problems. EA seems to help since we are outside of the general window. For me, the fact that driving my van is an exercise in patience, especially when loaded up, and my vehicles being plastered with sobriety related stickers, has resulted in so far absolutely no issues with LEOs in any year I've been burning.

And I make sure I'm below the speed limit going through the small towns. Every one I've seen gives AMPLE warning of the drop in speed.

[theCryptofishist]

And I thought that 5 and 99 were the highways that the couriers use to move all that pot and meth up and down the west coast...
Why the fuck are they concentrating on the little fish?

[TT120]

It's called "hunting burners" and it's kind of a sport up there.

[melodiousdirge]

Being an idiot is.

*bites tongue*

[Captain Goddammit]

Well it was very widely published that cops would be looking for broken tail lights, obscured license plates and similar violations, and looking for drugs when they made the stop.
Considering that, I guess driving with obvious equipment violations or speeding while carrying drugs qualifies as "genius"?

[melodiousdirge]

Well it was very widely published that cops would be looking for broken tail lights, obscured license plates and similar violations, and looking for drugs when they made the stop.
Considering that, I guess driving with obvious equipment violations or speeding while carrying drugs qualifies as "genius"?

I really don't understand why you want to argue about this so badly. Everyone has already agreed that doing illegal things in front of the police is stupid. Here is your ribbon and a suggestion that you change your name to captain obvious. Can we move on please?

[trilobyte]

I've got news for you, Zipper. Regardless of what road you take, driving with a broken tail light can get you pulled over. And if the officer has reasonable suspicion, they'll conduct a search.

The best way to avoid trouble - make sure you're not an easy target. You should be checking tail lights ANYWAYS (that's an obvious safety issue), then check to make sure the load is secure (if you've got stuff on the roof, bed of a pickup, etc), and then take some time to make sure your vehicle and its passengers don't scream SEARCH ME. What many smokers don't realize is that they often reek of what they've been smoking, and so does their vehicle. Before you pack for Burning Man, take your vehicle to the car wash and get the interiors done. Wear clean clothes and then don't imbibe in something whose smell would give cops just cause for a search.

[Fidget]

I'll also add that it's wise to give your bags/luggage a little clean beforehand.
Whenever I know I'm traveling across a border I take a moment to wipe out some of the pockets and generally give it a clean.. dogs man, its unbelievable what they can smell from however long ago.

Ultimately the minor effort it takes is absolutely worth it when compared to the alternative which, if you're coming from outside the US can literally mean not being allowed back into the country (and subsequently no mo Burning Man).

[geospyder]

Just received the following...

The Nevada Department of Transportation will begin a $800,000 project to construct turn pockets for enhanced safety and mobility on U.S. 395 south of Gardnerville Sunday, Aug. 3.

Sierra Nevada Construction will build a right-hand turn lane from southbound U.S. 395 to increase safety and access south of Riverview Drive near the Washoe Tribal Headquarters. A center turn pocket will also be constructed in the highway median to provide for a designated, safer turn in either direction. With as many as 10,000 vehicles traveling the section of highway daily, the dedicated turn lanes will help enhance safety and reduce the potential of crashes for those driving in the area.
Construction will take place Sunday evenings through Friday mornings. Minor construction-related traffic impacts will occur during the day, with periodic construction-related lane closures and delays taking place overnight between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Motorists are advised to drive at posted construction speed limits, or slower as necessary for conditions. The project is scheduled to complete by the fall.

[forty_eight]

^ now that is good looking out!

[thirt33n]

Wa State to Alturas on 395 is my normal route.
..once went the eastern route to Winnemucca across Jungo....

on the way home, in 2011, was the only time I got pulled over.
Ford Ranger with vintage vista trailer and bikes on the front bumper, dusty as hell with sharpie tattoos all over the insides of my arms and chest...
I was going 60 in a 55..(oregon speed limit..) usually I pay closer attention.

The cop was pretty cool, asked where I was coming from, told me that he was "aware it was a counter culture event",...asked if I had any drugs or open containers...
I told him there were most likely open containers stowed back in the trailer...but nothing else

He said, "get home safely and keep it under 55."

...I was lucky that day

but I'm with Captain GD....have your shit together and dump any illegal stuff and there's no need to be nervous for simple traffic stops...

[Captain Goddammit]

"Captain Obvious"... OK that's pretty awesome, I respect a good witty retort. Sorry to be bitchy or preachy, this subject is one of my hot buttons and I probably ought to just shut the fuck up. Let Darwin thin the herd.

[BBadger]

It just seems a little naïve Captain, to believe that simply having "nothing illegal" -- if you're even able to qualify that statement 100% -- will let you slip by LEO without any trouble or even arrest. Do you follow each and every statute and law in every jurisdiction you cross into? Do you know that every LEO you encounter has a complete understanding of those laws too? Have you ensured at every moment that your vehicle hasn't been tampered with?

While law is technically not fluid, interpretation is. So is suspicion. You're not in a court of law when you're in front of a LEO, you're at the mercy of the LEO's interpretation of the facts -- facts that may be overturned later, but may cost you a lot of time now and when you have to show up in some shitty, backwater county courthouse to dispute your charges. This brings up another issue...

You're also measuring this problem in terms of simply being arrested or charged. How much is your time and energy worth to you? Say you have nothing illegal in your car, but you're the type who gets nervous in the presence of LEO and say more than you need to (like that you're going to Burning Man), arousing probable cause and subsequently a search. Sure, in the end the officer may not find something, but you may be out an hour or two while he and his boys tear your carefully packed car apart searching to find something -- anything -- they can use against you. Don't count on them helping pack your stuff back either. While you may not be "arrested" per se, you're left with less than you started with: lost valuable time and energy entertaining this "due process." You may even feel violated by the whole incident affecting your experience later.

Bottom line: you may be innocent, but the "until proven guilty" may also cost you a lot.

The main benefit of having nothing illegal in the car (that you know about) is the peace of mind that you won't give the officer a "tell" that may arouse suspicion. Beyond that though, you're as much at risk to have your car searched as someone carrying illegal goods and hiding it well. I'd actually feel safer traveling with someone carrying contraband, but who knows how to behave in front of LEO (as well as hiding the goods and not ), than someone without contraband who doesn't know how to act, or doesn't know or practice his rights.

You should also remember that past is not a indicator of the future, nor do anecdotes or a lack thereof prove much. What we do know is that law enforcement has been stepped up as the event has become more popular, and that they are taking extra efforts to try and charge people with anything they can. It's a hostile environment for all attendees, and your best defense is to avoid law enforcement altogether, and when that's not possible, to know and practice your rights.

[Captain Goddammit]

I agree with all that. That's why it pisses me off that so many burners carry drugs that the cops consider this a turkey shoot!

[Elliot]

...
What surprised me is that somebody was arrested for possessing Adderall and Xanax without a prescription. A good remind to bring your 'scripts with you!

Adderall and Xanax (and a number of others) are more than just prescription medications. They are Controlled Substances, with additional... eh... controls.

These days (in my experience), paper prescription slips are becoming obsolete. Most of my prescriptions go electronically from the doctor's computer to the pharmacy's computer. Not so with the Controlled Substances medications. These still require a paper prescription slip, and let me tell you, the pharmacy inspects that piece of paper with hawk eyes. Then they keep the slip. So it may not be possible to carry the old-fashioned prescription slips around with us.

But I do receive a "Tax Receipt" which has the information on it. So it may be a good idea to carry these receipts.

And the information is right there on the label on the jar. So keep your meds in the original jars. Do not transfer them to the pill-minder thingies with the names of the weekdays, no matter how strongly your doctor recommends this to help you take your meds on time. Make yourself an other system, such a chart in a note book, to keep track.
And don't consolidate two months supply in one jar either.

Same goes for non-prescription pills like aspirin and vitamins -- original jars and no mixing.

Let's hope this is helpful.

[Eric]

So keep your meds in the original jars. Do not transfer them to the pill-minder thingies with the names of the weekdays, no matter how strongly your doctor recommends this to help you take your meds on time. Make yourself an other system, such a chart in a note book, to keep track.

I still use my pill-minder, because my brain needs the visual clue to take them, even after all these years. I bring my most recent bottle, modern bottles have a description of the pill on them which makes it easy to identify them in the pill-minder if there are questions. I do not put my vitamins in the minder for that week (it's not a crisis if I forget those) so that there's no confusion. However, neither of mine are Controlled pills, just prescription. Elliot's advice is solid for things like Xanax.

[theCryptofishist]

So keep your meds in the original jars. Do not transfer them to the pill-minder thingies with the names of the weekdays, no matter how strongly your doctor recommends this to help you take your meds on time. Make yourself an other system, such a chart in a note book, to keep track.

I still use my pill-minder, because my brain needs the visual clue to take them, even after all these years. I bring my most recent bottle, modern bottles have a description of the pill on them which makes it easy to identify them in the pill-minder if there are questions. I do not put my vitamins in the minder for that week (it's not a crisis if I forget those) so that there's no confusion. However, neither of mine are Controlled pills, just prescription. Elliot's advice is solid for things like Xanax.

I just doled out a day's worth into an old, empty pill bottle. With... 20? or so pills every single day (okay, I'm counting the four fish oil gels and I take six--that's six--gabapenten/nueronton for the nerve damage) I simply cannot use them direct from the bottle. I'd get totally lost, and med compliance on the playa is tough enough for me already. I also took a photocopy of those inserts that come wtih the bottle. Yeah, I suppose they could arrest me. Once they tested all that, they'd look pretty foolish.