You know i have never put much thought into carrying my I.D, i have always carried a few bucks with me since i often thumb a ride back to the car, but i think i will start to carry my I.D. as well from now on.
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Leave nothing but footprints Take nothing but pictures Kill nothing but time
Registered: 01/16/11
Posts: 180
Loc: Tacoma, Washington
My car key is an electronic fob. When I get to the trailhead I disable the fob by taking out the battery and tape the fob to an underside of an engine hose. The battery in the spare tire cavity. In the future I'm going to start leaving all the paper work at home....I rarely get stopped by authorities, and am going to assume that most would understand my motivations. The entrance combination code gets written inside of my pack, with a sharpie. On the trail I carry about three 20's' drivers lic., and one c.c.
A CHP told me that they'll accept paper copies with the address obliterated or smartphone pics of them. Too many folks get ripped off via stolen garage openers and without an address a remote becomes moot.
I was once stopped by a police officer driving my friend's car and without driver license (forgot my wallet that day) for speeding...
After I explained the situation, and provided all my information by memory (and the officer verified it on her computer), she let me go with a "driving without license ticket" and "speeding _warning_".
If not for Conceal Carry License, I'd leave my wallet home every time after that accident
PS My Driver License _never_ has my valid actual home address. PPS I'm not hiding it from the police, they have my address on file, but to show where you live to every cash register person ("May I see your ID please" when you buy something expensive with a credit card or just a bottle of wine, sound familiar, huh? - Yessir, sure sir!)... No way
How can you have a different address on file? Are you in the witness protection program or in the CIA? A LEO? In my state that's a fake ID and an offense. Unless I was scoring a pound of heroin with my credit card, I don't think I'd be too worried about getting tracked down by a cashier.
I leave my keys inside a crunched up paper coffee cup under the cap of my empty pick up bed. The key to the cap I place in my hitch receiver. On short trips keys go in a hip belt pocket that is never opened. I almost never carry money, but will in a few days in the Grand Canyon, as we are camping at Bright Angel the first night of this trip (re-doing the South Kaibab) and want some goodies from the Phantom Ranch canteen. I also have reservations for dinner, having done it once before. Sitting around a plank table eating family style with people from around the world is not something we get to do very often. Diversity is not one of the advantages of rural living. The worst key experience we've had occurred 3 years ago in the Grand Canyon at the Mather Campground on the South Rim. My wife had placed the key to the car sitting in long term parking back in Albany, NY on the picnic table when we were sorting gear. She wanted to hide it with other valuables in the rental car. A raven came down when she walked away and stole the key!!!! It was an expensive ordeal to replace the electronic key and get the car retrieved. She now keeps it clipped with a 'biner to something no matter what! After that incident, we've left my truck at the airport using the above mentioned method of key hiding. We'll be doing just that in a few more hours.
My license does not have the correct address on it either. But i do not do this intentionally. I have lived in 5 different locations in 2 different states within the last 2 and a half years. Switching I.D. from state to state can be a hassle not nearly as big as switching car registration though Grrrrr (thats a whole other subject). But the address on my current license is for my parents house even though its not my current residence i feel that it is sufficient.
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Leave nothing but footprints Take nothing but pictures Kill nothing but time
Registered: 05/19/14
Posts: 182
Loc: Central Illinois near Springfi...
I wondered about that too. I'll have to ask if I can get my license without the street address printed on it. A few years back, I would not have given it any thought, but with identity theft all the rage, it might be possible.
How can you have a different address on file? Are you in the witness protection program or in the CIA? A LEO? In my state that's a fake ID and an offense. Unless I was scoring a pound of heroin with my credit card, I don't think I'd be too worried about getting tracked down by a cashier.
No, I am not. When I moved from one place to another - I submitted a change of address form for DL online. They asked if I want a new DL for $15 or contempt to keep using the old one with my old address for free Guess what was my choice.
I guess, another, simpler solution would be to just put a label or a stripe of a ducttape over the address part of DL. I bet a cash register clerk would not insist on taking it off (as long as he could see your birth date and name match). If someone has a legitimate need to see your address, it's simple to take it off and put it back on right after it. That's what I'll do when my current one expires and they send me a new one with the address on file.
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6800
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
I remember a strip of tape being used once for address change (I think it was in Nebraska in the 1960s), but that wouldn't fly these days since your Drivers License is the ID you need to get on an airplane.
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6800
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Very boring reading: Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes Federal Register January 29, 2008 per the Real ID Act of 2005.
Among many other things, the Feds don't want anything on the DL that could easily be altered.
I fly about once a year, but all three of my sons fly frequently (at least monthly) for business purposes. The one who lives in Washington (a non-compliant state) will soon have to start carrying his passport instead. although the Feds keep extending the deadline.
Edited by OregonMouse (04/03/1605:16 PM)
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
Well, you pick what is more important to you - revealing your address to strangers in everyday transactions, or carrying a passport once a month to the flight.
I'm perfectly happy with my DL, it doesn't have my current address, so I don't need to hide it (and I flew several times using it). When time comes, and my state sends me a new DL with my address, I'll find a way to mask it.
I can't remember the last time someone asked for my license as ID. Of course, I'm not young at all, so perhaps that helps. But I've purchased expensive goods with my credit card and not been asked for ID. I've purchased scotch at BevMo and not been asked for my ID. Etc. So for me it's just not a concern.
I realize that we have veered off the original topic, but a few notes about some points that have been made.
1. Real ID continues to receive push back from the States, so it will not be implemented anytime soon. Can you imagine the chaos if the Feds decided to do so and all the residents of States with non-compliant IDs could no longer use them to travel, etc.? Not that many of us actually have an alternative such as a passport. So the Feds continue to say they are acting benevolently in extending the implementation when in actuality the States are raising the unfunded mandate issues.
2. If you don't want to carry your passport all the time, consider getting a passport card. That works for the TSA ID check and the card does not have your address on it like your driver's license does.
3. Merchants are in violation of their agreements with credit card companies if they require to see your ID to complete the sale e.g. MasterCard (however, Discover does permit this, which is one reason I don't have one). I have had some issues with merchants (e.g. Fry's), but have always been successful to date.
Now for my TSA ID check comment. They are fairly worthless. The TSA's mission is to keep WEI (weapons, explosives and incendiaries) off of planes and out of the airside areas of airports. ID checks do not further this mission. In addition, they are not checking against a database, they are checking one piece of paper against another to see if they match. And yes, you can fly if you have no ID; otherwise what happens to those that lose their ID on a trip?
With that kind of luck you should hike New Zealand. Rent a Kia and eventually a kea will steal your Kia key.
Cheers,
Not as lucky as one might think. When we stayed in Mather Campground in the Grand Canyon Village again a few weeks ago, the rangers were warning people to leave nothing on their picnic tables , ESPECIALLY shiny objects, as a raven had made off with someone's car keys, again. Not common, but not unheard of. In the extremely unlikely event we ever make it to New Zealand, I'll make sure to rent a Toyota to at least eliminate the chance of irony.
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