vehicle search
Examining a car
A vehicle search is the inspection of a car, truck, or other vehicle by law enforcement or security personnel, typically looking for contraband, weapons, or evidence of crime.
In legal contexts, vehicle searches occupy a distinct category because courts have ruled that vehicles have a reduced expectation of privacy compared to homes: The officer conducted a vehicle search after smelling marijuana.
At border crossings and security checkpoints, vehicle searches may be routine rather than requiring specific suspicion.
- inspectionFormal assessment of condition
- checkpointInspection station on route
- policeCivil law enforcement
- trunkMain stem or storage
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
warrant · K-9 · drug dog · roadside · seizure · pat down · reasonable suspicion · suspicious · patrol · smuggling · border · customs · glove compartment · probable cause · flashlight · consent · drugs · pull over
- missing personsmissing person, disappearance, missing children, missing child, vanished
- border controlvisa requirements, passport control, guard, border crossing, border security
- customscustoms, customs clearance, wedding custom, customs declaration, burial custom
- dog trainingdown, come, wait, treats, quiet
- security patrolsecurity guard, patrol, mobile patrol, guard dogs, foot patrol
- Traffic Policetraffic cop, traffic stop, patrol car, traffic stops, highway patrol
vehicle searchstrip search
Unclothed physical examination
cavity search · pat-down · body search · body cavity search · frisk
vehicle searchtraffic stop
Police halting a motorist
vehicle inspection · visual inspection · license check · verbal warning · free passage
vehicle, search, vehicles, vehicular, searched, searches, searching, searcher, searchers