Can DOT legally search my backpack, even if it's on me when he searches my cab?

Too bad that guy didn't know the law as well as he thought:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/02/16/us/border-legal-rights-faq-trnd/index.html

 

I joked around with a border patrol guy once...
HIS name was perez..smiling when i pulled up so i thought id give him a joke....he said are you an American citizen...i said yes but got 8 immigrants in the back! His smile turned to a frown and told me to pull to the side...he searched everywhere....cab ,trailer,top of trailer you name it.he looked.....then he gave me a 30 min ### chewing

 

Unless you have hours to kill while officer detains you till he gets a search warrant just let him search what he wants.

 

He threw around legal jargon and kept repeating his phrases like his wife was in the passengers seat pulling the sting that hung out of his ###: 'The cow goes moo. The dog goes ruff.' 'The cow goes moo. The dog goes ruff.'

She wraps it up nicely tho, and surmises his attitude and disposition: All you've got to do is be a belligerent jack-### - instant American.

 

I think the OP is concerned that what is in his bag is personal and private and not illegal. Nothing will shock DOT or police, may surprise them

 

Yes, they will search the backpack. They will do it even if you drive a personal vehicle. In Nebraska on I-80 I see it done every time I am there. Unscrupulous. People standing in a ditch and watching a trooper going through their packed underwear.

 

Have always hated that answer.
I guess some people (regardless of innocence) don't mind their right's being stomped on, and like to give a "Republic" Government full access to every aspect of their private lives---how about everyone with this mind-set move to North Korea?

 

I don't think it's been suggested here but I would think it wise for anyone to refuse to give permission to search their private things. That way if you end up in court, for whatever reason, you can argue the legality of the search. If you give permission for a search from the get-go you can't later as effectively argue the legality of the search or that you opposed it for some reason.

To the argument of "If you don't have anything to hide...." . What if you DO want to hide something? Don't you have that right? And why would I want to submit to having my privacy invaded even though I had nothing to hide? I don't think anyone likes having some stranger checking out their private stuff.

To the argument that "Driving is a privilege not a right"..... I've heard that rationalization before and think it could effectively be argued that one has a constitutional right to own or drive a vehicle if they SAFELY operate it. Though driving is not a constitutional "right" in itself, you cannot be denied a license on the basis of race, religious preference, sex, sexual preference, etc. Therefore, it has traditionally been treated AS a constitutional right. Futher, nobody has ever been denied a license for reasons unconnected with the safe operation of a vehicle.

Also, a license to drive is not just "a privilege" for some. It's an absolute necessity that supports ones life and livelihood. The cancer patient who needs to drive to chemo; the emergency room nurse who forgot to pay those parking tickets; the firefighter; the truck driver transporting medicines who refused the backpack search; ---there are a thousand reasons why driving should be treated as an integral and imperative protected right to living in a society that depends upon effective transportation.

 

This is what a lawyer and state trooper told me. One it must be completely zipped closed at time of inspection plus a name tag with your full name and current address on it this make the bag personal property not under DOT laws. But they still can get a search warrant. No name tag it a part of truck.

 

I'm still looking for relevant material on this subject, so far this is the closest I can get...
http://www.snopes.com/supreme-court-rules-drivers-licenses-unnecessary/