Getting thru Maryland???

[punxsutawneypete]

Follow US code 926a, don't do anything dumb, stick close to the speed limit and don't sweat it.

Pretty good advice.

For what it's worth, I was driving in Maryland and on the exit ramp a Maryland cop car followed me right up the ramp. My car has no bumper stickers of any kind. The only thing distinctive is a license plate reference to a car driven by a comic book character who drives a black car. I watched the cop in my rear view mirror and he was constantly glancing down and to his right. I think he was running my plate, but since I was watching my step I never gave him an excuse to pull me over. But it was a little disconcerting to think that having out of state plates was enough to arouse suspicion that I must have done something wrong.

[ray h]

Yes it is. When all those new license plate scanners came on line so did the inclusion of LTCF information with your driver's license. If you are driving a vehicle registered to you he will run the plate and find your driver's license and the LCTF information right there for his use. The Chester County Sheriff told me that your driver's license is now directly connected to the LCTF and they share their database. That was the case about six months ago. The year is now 1984.

I would have to see evidence of this....
LTCF are issued on county level and DL and vehicle registrations are obviously state !evel, at what point are they connected?
If the PSP was the issuing agency for LTCF I would say it's likely they they would tied to DL and registration information, but that's not the case.I
Think about how many systems and steps would be involved for an out of state law enforcement agency to scan a PA plate, obtain DL information on the driver of that vehicle and determine that their county of residence has issued a LTCF, and all of that happening automatically with no input from the officer, just by scanning a plate.

[OF&U]

First; sorry for opening a VERY old thread.
But I have a related question and thought it better to reply here instead of starting a new thread.

I'm planning on attending Virginia's Lobby Day on 1/20/2020 in Richmond, VA.
And living in Allentown, PA. I will need to drive through Maryland.
Not that I plan on breaking an laws. But I just do not trust Maryland police; state or local; not to be jackbooted criminals.

So I would like to take the shortest, most practical, and safest route through Maryland.
The two most direct routes; I-95 or MD route 15; would take me longer through Maryland than I would like.

The 3rd most direct route is along I-81. Which I used to routinely take when I went racing at Summit Point, WV.
BUT I heard too many horror stories about Maryland SP are now scanning out of state license plates and unlawfully target, harassing travelers with carry permits.
And although I would probably be traveling at night along I-81. My truck has signs, novelty plate, and flags that indicate I am very Pro-2A/Pro-gun.

So I looked for other possible routes.
I thought about going at least another 1-1/2 hour out of my way and crossing through Maryland at rt 522.
Which I happen to notice in this thread that soberbyker mentions in post #12 of this thread.

So I'm looking for opinions.

• Should I just stick with the quickest route and take I-95 ?
• Is the I-81 corridor really that bad ?
• Would it be wise for me to take the extra 1-1/2 hour each way to travel along rt 522 ?
• Is there another route I have not even considered ?

Thanks;

I81 is probably the best bet for minimizing time in enemy territory . That said, my recommendation would be US 15 down through Frederick to Point of Rocks. I actually take this route fairly often and rarely see much in the way of LEO. Just after you cross the river into VA (literally at the end of the bridge) there is a road running along the river that goes to a boat ramp, perfect place to pull over and exercise your freedom. Then get back on 15 south to Rt 7 east out of Leesburg, to Rt 28 south down to I-66 east and the next exit to Rt 286 south, hang a right onto Rt 123 and that takes you back to I95 well south of the madness (AKA the DC beltway.) Aside from spending slightly less time (vs I95) in MD, it also avoids all of the beltway and other nonsense around Baltimore and DC. Reassemble in reverse order on the way back.

Happy trails!

[gnbrotz]

Stick to 81. I run down to WV fairly often and have never had a problem.

Obey traffic laws.

Put anything firearm related into a locked container, even if not required. (This helps prevent "He gave me consent to search" arguments when parties remember events differently).

DO NOT consent to a search if stopped. My understanding is that even if there is justification to search pursuant to a stop, any discovered locked containers still require a warrant to be lawfully opened by LE.

Be prepared to record any encounter.

IANAL

[JenniferG]

I would have to see evidence of this....
LTCF are issued on county level and DL and vehicle registrations are obviously state !evel, at what point are they connected?
If the PSP was the issuing agency for LTCF I would say it's likely they they would tied to DL and registration information, but that's not the case.I
Think about how many systems and steps would be involved for an out of state law enforcement agency to scan a PA plate, obtain DL information on the driver of that vehicle and determine that their county of residence has issued a LTCF, and all of that happening automatically with no input from the officer, just by scanning a plate.

Saw it with my own eyes when I had to get my information corrected on my DL. After going through the correction process at DL center went to the Sheriff's office let them know about the correction and while I was standing there he says here it is while looking at his computer. They ran a pics, changed my information to correct information to coincide with DL. He told me it's been in operation like that for over a year and that was June of 2019. All the information is there on that little box in the squad car and you paid for with shiny new freshly minted tax dollars. Data sharing is nothing these days it's all connected and there are plenty of H1A's writing the software to do it. That's how it is. Out of state, out of country what difference does it make? If your information is on the internet it's available to anyone who pays for it.

[Carson]

Saw it with my own eyes when I had to get my information corrected on my DL. After going through the correction process at DL center went to the Sheriff's office let them know about the correction and while I was standing there he says here it is while looking at his computer. They ran a pics, changed my information to correct information to coincide with DL. He told me it's been in operation like that for over a year and that was June of 2019. All the information is there on that little box in the squad car and you paid for with shiny new freshly minted tax dollars. Data sharing is nothing these days it's all connected and there are plenty of H1A's writing the software to do it. That's how it is. Out of state, out of country what difference does it make? If your information is on the internet it's available to anyone who pays for it.

This is not entirely correct. Your DL and LTCF are not linked together. However if your OLN or name were to be entered into NCIC/PCIC, numerous files are queried. Such as BMV, local warrants, national warrants, protection orders, missing person files, PA LTCF files, etc.

If your tag was scanned or entered, it would show owner information, wants and possible PA BMV Driver info.

I don’t believe a tag scan can show out of state LTCF info.


Are you saying the Sheriff changed your LTCF or DL info for you right there?

[ray h]

I'm going with what Carson said ^^^^^
Any idea how hard it would be to set up a tag reading system that automatically accesses every agency (county, local, state) in the country that issues carry permits?

[SevenMilePete]

I81 is probably the best bet for minimizing time in enemy territory . That said, my recommendation would be US 15 down through Frederick to Point of Rocks. I actually take this route fairly often and rarely see much in the way of LEO. Just after you cross the river into VA (literally at the end of the bridge) there is a road running along the river that goes to a boat ramp, perfect place to pull over and exercise your freedom. Then get back on 15 south to Rt 7 east out of Leesburg, to Rt 28 south down to I-66 east and the next exit to Rt 286 south, hang a right onto Rt 123 and that takes you back to I95 well south of the madness (AKA the DC beltway.) Aside from spending slightly less time (vs I95) in MD, it also avoids all of the beltway and other nonsense around Baltimore and DC. Reassemble in reverse order on the way back.

Happy trails!

I lived in northern VA. for almost 30 years, and no way would I take the route you suggested. Too much traffic, too many turns. And even at night, traffic is terrible.

[JenniferG]

This is not entirely correct. Your DL and LTCF are not linked together. However if your OLN or name were to be entered into NCIC/PCIC, numerous files are queried. Such as BMV, local warrants, national warrants, protection orders, missing person files, PA LTCF files, etc.

If your tag was scanned or entered, it would show owner information, wants and possible PA BMV Driver info.

I don’t believe a tag scan can show out of state LTCF info.


Are you saying the Sheriff changed your LTCF or DL info for you right there?

I'm saying the Sheriff changed the information on my LTCF to match my driver's license as I was standing there, ran a PICS and issued me a new card with the correct and identical information that my driver's license has. They are directly connected, LCTF info keys directly off your driver's license info that's why I had to go to the Sheriff's office in the first place, to have both cards display the same information without discrepancy. The sheriff said it wasn't really that important because the officer can see all the information at his terminal anyway but took care it politely and quickly and out the door I went with the updated card in about 15 minutes. I have no confidence that kind of quick and easy service will happen ever again with the new Soros Sheriff.

As far as out of state police they don't automatically get that information they have to pay the Commonwealth of PA to get it. Apparently MD pays for that info on out of state DL's for some states like FL but I can't know with any certainty if they purchase the database from PA. PA can sell your information to any third party entity they chose without your knowledge or permission. Once you sign those papers for a DL with PA you have given up any right to privacy you may believe you once had.That's what the national ID card "Real ID" is all about, having access to your information across the entire country with only a few mouse clicks after entering your name. It has nothing to do with security it has everything to do with being able to track you wherever you go.

Now follow the story. The license scanner can only tell who owns the car. It can be seen (with PA police or out of state police that have purchased access to the database) that the owner of the vehicle has a PA DL and that the DL information shows that person also has an LTCF. If the officer wants to know if the person that is driving that vehicle is the owner and the same person on that DL that is also licensed to carry he must pull that car over and verify the identity of the driver. That's how it really works.

That's why I suggested to ETT if he is going to VA for the rally and is concerned about MD he should rent a car and all those concerns about MD knowing the owner of the vehicle whom has a PA DL and LCTF will be whisked away because the scanner on a MD police cruiser will show the car is registered wherever and is owned by some nameless faceless corporation based in Wilmington DE otherwise known as rental car.

[JenniferG]

Just so you understand about all this ID stuff. Right now PA is just getting it's Real ID show and tell going. It was dragging its feet for so long not because they are incompetent and lazy although no one can dispel the merits of that argument but because they were generating revenue by selling all that information. PA must now provide the driver's license data to the Federal Database so that all states will now have access to that database.

PA lost the revenue that was generated from the sale of that information when they implement Real ID. The Feds had to provide some monetary incentive and threats of punishment to bring them to heel. New Mexico has been running the same gambit and they too were dragging their heels on the national ID card now known as Real ID. There are probably more states too but those are the two I actually know about. Remember only a few short years ago everyone was all upset about having a National ID Card because the Feds could watch your activities and spy on you? Real ID