California Agricultural Inspection Stations

[Plutonic Panda]

Oddly enough I stumbled upon a video of this fool:

I've never been bothered by them although I do think much of the source of the backups at the Primm/CA border has to do with the checkpoints. Entertaining video on what happens if you decide to fight with them.

[Max Rockatansky]

I once drove off an inspector on I-10 something like 15 years ago when they got way over the top snarky with me.  It probably wasn't the best advised thing to do, but nothing came of it. 

[jtespi]

Oddly enough I stumbled upon a video of this fool:

I've never been bothered by them although I do think much of the source of the backups at the Primm/CA border has to do with the checkpoints. Entertaining video on what happens if you decide to fight with them.

Yikes, what a big ordeal he (Feinman) made over such a small matter. I agree, he's a fool. Especially when he just had to present his driver's license and registration to be issued a citation. Officers have the right to ask for those two items whenever you are driving. Feinman is definitely in the wrong after that point in the video.

I don't mean to get too political but [redacted]

[jdbx]

I give a lot of credit to the CHP officers in that video for all of the effort the put into de-escalation.  I'm sure there are plenty of other circumstances and factors surrounding the occupants of the vehicle that, had they been different, they would have been dragged out of the car and cuffed-up pretty much immediately.

[lstone19]

Starting to wonder if anyone has seen an Ag Inspection station open recently. We moved to Reno two months ago. In three trips into California, two via I-80 and most recently via US 395 at Topaz Lake, no inspecting was going on. For the I-80 trips, you drove through an inspection lane but no one was there and there was a sign saying "No Inspection Today." For US 395 at Topaz, the station was coned off and traffic was directed to the original roadway (and I could see it was the same last night when we returned to Nevada).

[Occidental Tourist]

The Ivanpah/Mountain Pass station was open two weeks ago Monday when I drove through there.

[Scott5114]

When I went through Needles on EB I-40 at the end of October, the inspection station going WB there appeared to be open.

[roadfro]

Starting to wonder if anyone has seen an Ag Inspection station open recently. We moved to Reno two months ago. In three trips into California, two via I-80 and most recently via US 395 at Topaz Lake, no inspecting was going on. For the I-80 trips, you drove through an inspection lane but no one was there and there was a sign saying "No Inspection Today." For US 395 at Topaz, the station was coned off and traffic was directed to the original roadway (and I could see it was the same last night when we returned to Nevada).

Can't remember the last time I went through the check station on I-80 at Truckee... Might've been as long ago as March. Whenever it was, it was exactly as you described.

[cl94]

I've been in Reno for 3 months now. Every time I have been through the inspection station on I-80, it was empty. US 395 near Hallelujah Junction has always been staffed, but "have a nice day" with no questioning. US 50, they wave everyone that isn't a truck or trailer to the bypass lane and that is apparently how it always is from what locals have told me. The only place I have gotten *any* questioning was at US 6, and that was just "any fruit?"

[rschen7754]

Over the summer I came in on US 101 and the station was running. I can't remember if they asked anything pertinent or just waved me through.

Last summer I came in on US 97 and it was about the same.

[kkt]

Most of what they're worried about at any time is trucks and trailers... lots of cargo capacity.  Not the apple you brought to eat on the road.

[cl94]

Most of what they're worried about at any time is trucks and trailers... lots of cargo capacity.  Not the apple you brought to eat on the road.

This is why the ones with separate truck/car facilities are often empty or just waving through on the car side. Unless they spot a ferret or large box of fruit, they're not stopping you in a car.

[kphoger]

Most of what they're worried about at any time is trucks and trailers... lots of cargo capacity.  Not the apple you brought to eat on the road.

This is why the ones with separate truck/car facilities are often empty or just waving through on the car side. Unless they spot a ferret or large box of fruit, they're not stopping you in a car.

For what it's worth, such is not the case at the US—Mexican border.  I specifically remember an INM agent making me throw an apple and a banana in the trash can before allowing me to leave Mexican soil, when crossing on foot from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso in December 2001.  I also know someone from Mississippi who was leading a short-term mission team to Mexico once, and the INM agent at the border (Piedras Negras, I think) made a huge fuss about an apple on the dashboard of the van–let him off with throwing it in the trash can, but drove home the point that he could have imposed a hefty fine instead.

[stevashe]

Most of what they're worried about at any time is trucks and trailers... lots of cargo capacity.  Not the apple you brought to eat on the road.

This is why the ones with separate truck/car facilities are often empty or just waving through on the car side. Unless they spot a ferret or large box of fruit, they're not stopping you in a car.

For what it's worth, such is not the case at the US—Mexican border.  I specifically remember an INM agent making me throw an apple and a banana in the trash can before allowing me to leave Mexican soil, when crossing on foot from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso in December 2001.  I also know someone from Mississippi who was leading a short-term mission team to Mexico once, and the INM agent at the border (Piedras Negras, I think) made a huge fuss about an apple on the dashboard of the van–let him off with throwing it in the trash can, but drove home the point that he could have imposed a hefty fine instead.

For what it's worth, the US-Canada border is similar. I remember one time driving back from British Columbia into Washington, my parents were asked if we had any produce and the border agent said we couldn't take them with us. Even when they said we had actually brought them with us from the US, he just smiled and said "sorry, but produce 'loses citizenship' when you take it out of the country."  At least he was nice about it!

More on topic, I drove in on I-5 from Oregon at the beginning of October, and the station was open. Just got asked if I had any produce, answered that I had apples and oranges, and then they waved me on.

[theroadwayone]

The ag stations only exist in NorCal in American Truck Simulator.