The Inspector: Manning The Bridge

A sinewy man with a shaved head and a black LIVE TO DRIVE biker shirt guides his 18-wheeler across the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ont., to Detroit. He pulls into the U.S. customs yard, braking next to a National Guard tent festooned with last year's Christmas lights. It's July 1, one of the hottest days of the year, and the stagnant air at the foot of the bridge--the busiest commercial border crossing in North America--is thick with the smell of diesel and hog.

Three National Guard soldiers open LIVE TO DRIVE's trailer and poke about his cargo as a customs inspector,...

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