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Just got back tonight from a great three and a half week break, when we got to the tunnel customs check point a guy with a 'wand' with what looked like a swab attached to the end came and rubbed it over our steering wheel and my door handle than after doing a few more 'vans went and put the swab in a machine, it appeared to show O.K. as he let us all through !! anybody know what this was? not come across it before.
The fact that he only tested the areas that the driver touched is puzzling me, or am I missing something obvious here?
Ian
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From my understanding its a chemical swab test..
Either for explosives or drugs ( more likely the first).. We had it done years ago on a shopping trip via the Eurotunnel in a 4x4 and a couple of times in the Motorhome..
Also similar to what they do at airports.. My laptop was done once in USA..
If you had any residue on your hands then the most obvious place you would pass any on to is the steering wheels and other easy access places like handles etc..
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Hi Guys, thanks for the replies, we had thought about the explosives theory but dissmissed this as they only tested the areas the driver touched, i.e. if Jacqui had been the 'bomb maker' it wouldn't have shown up!! - she doesn't drive the 'van.
Ian
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Yeh, this has happened to me too. The swab check is for microscopic traces of explosives and/or drugs. If you had fired a gun at a shooting range, and then opened your car, touched the steering wheel etc. you would have 'failed' the test, and been subject to a more intensive enquiry. The guy that checked me looked like a gurkha, but very polite and efficient, and asked several questions before continuing with the procedure. I was glad to see such comprehensive security checks.
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Never heard of this before. I have had customs ask me to drive in to the shed place, and also had a dog in the van, but never a wand thing.
Russell
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as they only tested the areas the driver touched, i.e. if Jacqui had been the 'bomb maker' it wouldn't have shown up!! - she doesn't drive the 'van.
Ian
Glad to see another layer of security. The more the better. I'm curious to see if they'd have tested you if you'd been the passenger and Jacqui the driver though.
I think if I wanted to employ a suicide bomber I could draw up a profile of people that those i/c security would not expect.
I do hope I'm very wrong in this thought however.
G
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MMmm thats interesting, did not realise they bothered so much with motorhomes.
When in artic (usually hauling frozen or chilled food) we often get taken through the xray machine, which is a very large shed where you get out of the truck and is goes through on rails, is x rayed and then pops out the other end for you to collect....
I used to think it was a load of old tosh, but now I've seen inside the control room and they can see inside the truck....I'm not intellegent enough to know, but can't see that the 'power' needed to do that can be doing the contents of the fridge anygood.
We also get the dog searching the cab....
A friend of mine who does NOT smoke got hauled into the shed one day and was found to have a lot of cigs & tobbacco stashed in cab....one of the security chaps offered him a cig and he said "no thanks I don't smoke" which set them off big time...(only supposed to be for your own use etc)......clever them security people!!
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I have had that done several times. Looks like I am being victimised. But all they do is wave it around, say abracadabra and up pops a rabbit. You can see the results of all these spells as you drive up to the tunnel at night. Millions of rabbits abound.
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Pusser, I am disappointed. I was hoping for a more interesting reply, but don't go waving your wand at me!
R
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I´m searching for more
I´ve got something that´s all mine
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But all they do is wave it around, say abracadabra and up pops a rabbit. You can see the results of all these spells as you drive up to the tunnel at night. Millions of rabbits abound. 