Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Looks like the border crossings can become longer?
1. Wonder what happens if the tank is reinstalled wrong and something occurs, who is responsible?
2. What about vehicle warranties, or is the government acceptable for warranty work? Maybe they can do lift pumps while taking the tank off, and make a few bucks on the side?
Or if you have a tank of bad fuel, limp across the border and let them take care of it?
"Supreme Court OKs Gas Tank Border Searches
Associated Press/AP Online
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that government agents can search and even dismantle a car's gas tank as part of drug and other smuggling interdiction at the nation's borders.
Border officers can randomly search gas tanks, despite the absence of specific indication that a particular car is suspect, the high court said. People crossing the border have less expectation of privacy than elsewhere, and searching the inner reaches of a car is not the same thing as a strip search or other intrusive search of the driver, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the court.
"The government's interest in preventing the entry of unwanted persons and effects is at its zenith at the international border," Rehnquist wrote.
A federal appeals court in California had said that officers can visually inspect gas tanks, but not dismantle them unless they have reason to suspect wrongdoing.
Critics, including the White House, had argued that the lower court decision would make it easier to sneak weapons, drugs and even people into America. Lawyers on the other side argued that it's unconstitutionally intrusive and potentially hazardous for vehicles to be taken apart at border stops. "
1. Wonder what happens if the tank is reinstalled wrong and something occurs, who is responsible?
2. What about vehicle warranties, or is the government acceptable for warranty work? Maybe they can do lift pumps while taking the tank off, and make a few bucks on the side?
Or if you have a tank of bad fuel, limp across the border and let them take care of it?
"Supreme Court OKs Gas Tank Border Searches
Associated Press/AP Online
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that government agents can search and even dismantle a car's gas tank as part of drug and other smuggling interdiction at the nation's borders.
Border officers can randomly search gas tanks, despite the absence of specific indication that a particular car is suspect, the high court said. People crossing the border have less expectation of privacy than elsewhere, and searching the inner reaches of a car is not the same thing as a strip search or other intrusive search of the driver, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the court.
"The government's interest in preventing the entry of unwanted persons and effects is at its zenith at the international border," Rehnquist wrote.
A federal appeals court in California had said that officers can visually inspect gas tanks, but not dismantle them unless they have reason to suspect wrongdoing.
Critics, including the White House, had argued that the lower court decision would make it easier to sneak weapons, drugs and even people into America. Lawyers on the other side argued that it's unconstitutionally intrusive and potentially hazardous for vehicles to be taken apart at border stops. "
