Mod Note: Split off posts related to California Agricultural Inspection Stations dated February 2021 and February 2022 from the General "California" thread on 2/17/2022. Figured it might be better to have a dedicated thread for further inquiry and discussion. –Roadfro
Is CA the only U.S. state with border checkpoints?
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on February 13, 2021, 12:06:34 PM
Is CA the only U.S. state with border checkpoints?
If you mean Border Patrol, then no you'll find them anywhere within 100 miles of the Mexican Border. If you mean agriculture stations that would also be a no. Although California is really weird about placing agricultural stations in the middle of a right of way whereas almost every other state has them built like a truck scale.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2021, 12:11:14 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on February 13, 2021, 12:06:34 PM
Is CA the only U.S. state with border checkpoints?
If you mean Border Patrol, then no you'll find them anywhere within 100 miles of the Mexican Border. If you mean agriculture stations that would also be a no. Although California is really weird about placing agricultural stations in the middle of a right of way whereas almost every other state has them built like a truck scale.
I meant agriculture checkpoints for
state borders. What other states have them?
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on February 13, 2021, 12:22:30 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2021, 12:11:14 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on February 13, 2021, 12:06:34 PM
Is CA the only U.S. state with border checkpoints?
If you mean Border Patrol, then no you'll find them anywhere within 100 miles of the Mexican Border. If you mean agriculture stations that would also be a no. Although California is really weird about placing agricultural stations in the middle of a right of way whereas almost every other state has them built like a truck scale.
I meant agriculture checkpoints for state borders. What other states have them?
Off the top of my head Florida had them but they were grade separated and required only commercial vehicles to enter.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2021, 12:24:53 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on February 13, 2021, 12:22:30 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2021, 12:11:14 PM
Quote from: TheGrassGuy on February 13, 2021, 12:06:34 PM
Is CA the only U.S. state with border checkpoints?
If you mean Border Patrol, then no you'll find them anywhere within 100 miles of the Mexican Border. If you mean agriculture stations that would also be a no. Although California is really weird about placing agricultural stations in the middle of a right of way whereas almost every other state has them built like a truck scale.
I meant agriculture checkpoints for state borders. What other states have them?
Off the top of my head Florida had them but they were grade separated and required only commercial vehicles to enter.
AZ had them in the '60's through the early '90's; these were less permanent installations than seen in CA -- usually pavement turnoffs where a state vehicle could be parked and the lanes coned off for much the same sort of inspection process that CA has. Some of those wide spots are still in evidence on I-8 and I-10. IIRC, they were "budgeted out" about 25 years ago in AZ. They primarily operated in daytime; the notable exception was during CA's "Medfly" agricultural crisis back in 1981 and 1982, where they saw 24/7 staffing for several months so as to offer some level of protection for AZ's citrus industry centered in the lower Gila River valley along I-8.
Florida still has them, but like Max said, only for commercial vehicles.
Hawaii has agricultural check stations. Granted, they are at the airport, but the concept applies.
Quote from: jander on February 16, 2021, 12:34:09 AM
Hawaii has agricultural check stations. Granted, they are at the airport, but the concept applies.
This is the last time I encountered any agriculture checkpoint. Last couple times I drove into California, the inspection states either directed passenger traffic to bypass or were closed.
Quote from: jakeroot on February 16, 2021, 02:05:51 AM
Quote from: jander on February 16, 2021, 12:34:09 AM
Hawaii has agricultural check stations. Granted, they are at the airport, but the concept applies.
This is the last time I encountered any agriculture checkpoint. Last couple times I drove into California, the inspection states either directed passenger traffic to bypass or were closed.
The couple times when I was a kid going to SoCal from Las Vegas, I remember having to wait a while to get through the old I-15 station. I recall them asking about fruits and vegetables. First time through (I might've been about 6 at the time), I couldn't fathom why they cared.
For a while in the mid 2000s at the I-80 station near Truckee, they'd at least ask where you were coming from. I'd say "Reno", and they'd let me go on my way. One time I tried saying "Fallon," thinking that maybe originating from a town with agriculture operations might get a different response, but nope.
I've never seen a closed CA inspection station–I'm guessing this was not on a highly-trafficked route. Every time I've driven through one in a passenger vehicle over the last decade or so, I've pretty much been waived through–although my experiences have been mostly coming from Reno heading through the I-80 station or either US 395 station, so not lightly traveled. Only passenger cars I've seen held up lately were those towing boats (as there's been invasive mollusk problems around Tahoe and elsewhere). But it does make me wonder sometimes why California has spent so much money in the past decade or so rebuilding the check stations* with so many lines for passenger cars when you barely even have to stop your car anymore. (*I believe the I-80 inspection station was rebuilt about 10-15 years ago, and the I-15 station was rebuilt and relocated within roughly the last 5 years.)
Quote from: roadfro on February 16, 2021, 01:05:37 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on February 16, 2021, 02:05:51 AM
Quote from: jander on February 16, 2021, 12:34:09 AM
Hawaii has agricultural check stations. Granted, they are at the airport, but the concept applies.
This is the last time I encountered any agriculture checkpoint. Last couple times I drove into California, the inspection states either directed passenger traffic to bypass or were closed.
The couple times when I was a kid going to SoCal from Las Vegas, I remember having to wait a while to get through the old I-15 station. I recall them asking about fruits and vegetables. First time through (I might've been about 6 at the time), I couldn't fathom why they cared.
For a while in the mid 2000s at the I-80 station near Truckee, they'd at least ask where you were coming from. I'd say "Reno", and they'd let me go on my way. One time I tried saying "Fallon," thinking that maybe originating from a town with agriculture operations might get a different response, but nope.
I've never seen a closed CA inspection station–I'm guessing this was not on a highly-trafficked route. Every time I've driven through one in a passenger vehicle over the last decade or so, I've pretty much been waived through–although my experiences have been mostly coming from Reno heading through the I-80 station or either US 395 station, so not lightly traveled. Only passenger cars I've seen held up lately were those towing boats (as there's been invasive mollusk problems around Tahoe and elsewhere). But it does make me wonder sometimes why California has spent so much money in the past decade or so rebuilding the check stations* with so many lines for passenger cars when you barely even have to stop your car anymore. (*I believe the I-80 inspection station was rebuilt about 10-15 years ago, and the I-15 station was rebuilt and relocated within roughly the last 5 years.)
I've been driving into California on and off since I was younger, but really only cared to notice the inspection stations later in life. My information on them, as you might imagine then, isn't perhaps as matured as yours....upon further thought, I think they were open but were waiving drivers through.
The last two times I drove into California was via I-5 and US-199 (former being the standard route, latter used due to fires near Shasta). Both are fairly major routes into California from Oregon, so it wouldn't make sense for those inspection stations to be closed. But I swear they did not stop us or ask us anything, and simply waived us through along with most other vehicles. It seemed like maybe they were stopping only those vehicles with trailers or beds? I'm not totally sure what was going on. I do recall driving into California around 2011 with some family, and we definitely were stopped and had a very brief discussion. I would have been 16 at the time and recently taking an interest in roads, so it was the first time I gave them any thought. We were wagon-training in a couple minivans; I guess we looked suspicious? Or maybe it was the "good old days" when everyone got stopped.
Whenever I've entered on US 395, it was closed half the time, and I've never seen the US 6 one open, though I guess it must be sometimes.
On the other hand, I've never seen the I-15 or I-40 ones closed.
Quote from: ClassicHasClass on February 16, 2021, 05:05:54 PM
Whenever I've entered on US 395, it was closed half the time, and I've never seen the US 6 one open, though I guess it must be sometimes.
On the other hand, I've never seen the I-15 or I-40 ones closed.
OT: According to the Time Dilation Calculator, your signature "0-60 in 59.999997 years" works out to traveling at an average velocity of 58.9077 miles per second for your entire life.
There's just no stopping me. :sombrero:
https://goo.gl/maps/pfZK5SjUgZcxH3NN6
Why is US 101 port of entry different from US 199?
I entered California by car from Oregon on US 199, yet was not required to stop at the agricultural inspection, yet this GSV image shows that all traffic entering the Golden State has to clear inspection before traveling any further.
US 199 has an agricultural inspection station. They are listed as officially open 24 hours a day, but actually they close sometimes and don't announce the schedule of when they are closed. Shortage of staff perhaps? Anyway, at those times they just let traffic pass through without inspection.
I've been through US 199 once during the late night and the station was closed.
I've had to clear agricultural inspection at just two locations when entering California--once on I-10 at Blythe and twice on I-80 at Donner Pass at the old location. I've driven past inspection stations that were either closed or not actively inspecting vehicles on US 97, US 101, and US 395 (Topaz Lake). I suspect staffing resource is limited and, to the extent feasible, targeted to the crossings where it will deliver the greatest benefit in averted pest eradication expense.
Border Patrol checkpoints are a different matter--I've rarely driven past one that wasn't staffed, though I've been waved through a time or two.
I drive past the agricultural checkpoints along I-80 and US-50 several times a year, and cannot remember the last time I was ever stopped. It seems like they are closed most of the time when I pass by, and even when they are open I just get waved past. Could be that I have a CA plate and probably look like obvious Reno/Tahoe weekend tourists.
I've driven through the California Agricultural Inspection Station on US 97 near Doris a few times. Mostly open, once or twice closed. Once there was a guy there who just glanced at my car - little Mazda sedan with Washington plates - and waved me through.
It's true that the choice of who is stopped at the California bug stations (as they are called locally) is in some measure related to the state that issued your license plate. CA and neighboring states are waved through with no questions asked. I have a Nevada specialty plate which was dropped after very few were issued over the couple years they were available (it's one of these (https://www.tahoebike.org/nevada-share-the-road-license-plates-are-here/)). Recently the person at the US 395 Topaz Lake station was stopping me, then took a second look at the plate and said "Oh, that's Nevada, have a nice day then."
Quote from: jdbx on February 16, 2022, 02:00:07 PM
I drive past the agricultural checkpoints along I-80 and US-50 several times a year, and cannot remember the last time I was ever stopped. It seems like they are closed most of the time when I pass by, and even when they are open I just get waved past. Could be that I have a CA plate and probably look like obvious Reno/Tahoe weekend tourists.
Never been stopped with any variety of random plates. I feel like they look for trucks and people who look like they have a lot of stuff in their car. One time I even had a fruit in the car! I ate it soon after.
Quote from: Alps on February 16, 2022, 10:43:52 PM
Quote from: jdbx on February 16, 2022, 02:00:07 PM
I drive past the agricultural checkpoints along I-80 and US-50 several times a year, and cannot remember the last time I was ever stopped. It seems like they are closed most of the time when I pass by, and even when they are open I just get waved past. Could be that I have a CA plate and probably look like obvious Reno/Tahoe weekend tourists.
Never been stopped with any variety of random plates. I feel like they look for trucks and people who look like they have a lot of stuff in their car. One time I even had a fruit in the car! I ate it soon after.
I was stopped when I moving here in 2018; I had Missouri plates. I haven't been stopped since I got my California plates. I was also stopped about 20 years ago when I had a rental car; I don't recall the plates but I rented the car in Vegas.
I don't recall getting stopped at the one on I-80 when we passed through with Utah plates in 2013.
I've heard the bit about cars with California and Nevada plates being waved through. All of my car trips to California have been in vehicles with Kansas plates, and I was let through at Blythe despite answering the fruits-and-vegetables question with "No" around a mouthful of carrot. The most troublesome stop was at Donner Pass when I was on a SR 99/SR 70/SR 89/I-80 Feather River Highway loop trip and so had to answer the where-are-you-coming-from question with "Sacramento." That was in 2002, and the station has since been relocated from just west of SR 89 to just east of it so that it is less likely to intercept traffic originating in California.
Not just CA. I remember seeing something similar on both directions of I-75 in FL (near MM 445) when heading down there. Trucks have to exit and get checked there, while cars can skip it. I think I-95 and I-10 may also have them, though I'm not really sure, as I only entered FL on I-75 before.
I've been through a CA agricultural inspection station twice, both with my New Hampshire plates:
On US 97 in a Jeep, I was asked if I had any fruits or vegetables, then sent on my way.
On I-15 in a pickup truck, I was waved through without even stopping. Genuinely surprised here, but they seemed to be waving everyone through.
My other trips to California have coincidentally avoided the ag checkpoints.
Quote from: SkyPesos on February 17, 2022, 01:46:50 PM
Not just CA. I remember seeing something similar on both directions of I-75 in FL (near MM 445) when heading down there. Trucks have to exit and get checked there, while cars can skip it. I think I-95 and I-10 may also have them, though I'm not really sure, as I only entered FL on I-75 before.
As was mentioned upthread, Florida has agricultural checkpoints for commercial vehicles only at essentially every road that crosses the state line - even minor state highways.
The California agricultural inspection stations are evadable. (http://www.ferretsanonymous.com/checkpoints/AgStations.pdf)
Quote from: J N Winkler on February 17, 2022, 06:35:52 PM
The California agricultural inspection stations are evadable. (http://www.ferretsanonymous.com/checkpoints/AgStations.pdf)
They're going to have to redo the one for the 15, now that it's at the border. One route would be NV-160-Tecopa Road-(NV-CA)-Old Spanish Trail Hwy-CA-127-15, which takes you to Baker.
Even though the Florida inspection stations are optional for passenger cars, my dad violated it once years ago when he drove past one with a houseplant tree in a U-Haul trailer. Him and my stepmom were in the process of furnishing their new (at the time) condo in SW FL. The tree was left out on the balcony after a visit, and a hurricane or tropical storm came along and knocked it over, as well as damage some screens. So that foreign houseplant tree from Tennessee is no longer menacing the flora of SW FL.
Also 3 years ago, I was waved through the I-80 Truckee ag inspection checkpoint, probably because I was in a CA-plated rental car.
Quote from: J N Winkler on February 17, 2022, 06:35:52 PM
The California agricultural inspection stations are evadable. (http://www.ferretsanonymous.com/checkpoints/AgStations.pdf)
Note that is out of date, at least for I-15. The Yermo station is gone; the new station is just the other side of Primm. Much less evadable. Further, most passenger cars won't bother, and the real risk is trucked goods -- and they often can't do the detours (or can't afford the time lost). I work in Cybersecurity, and the goal isn't complete elimination of the risk, but bringing it down to an acceptable level. What California has is good enough.
Daniel
The one on I-40 is extremely easy to avoid. But it requires exiting the interstate of course.
Quote from: J N Winkler on February 17, 2022, 06:35:52 PM
The California agricultural inspection stations are evadable. (http://www.ferretsanonymous.com/checkpoints/AgStations.pdf)
I-80 info is also outdated, although avoiding the new location does still involve an exit numbered 194. The exits depicted on the PDF are now 184 and 185; the new inspection station is between current exits 190 and 194.
The new one could be avoided by using Boca Rd and Prosser Dam Rd, but it might be easier to follow the train tracks...
On a different note, what exotic fruits have y'all here managed to smuggle past the inspectors?
Quote from: theroadwayone on February 19, 2022, 04:14:12 AM
On a different note, what exotic fruits have y'all here managed to smuggle past the inspectors?
The issue is less the exotic fruits, and more the tiny bugs that travel on them, or on the houseplants, or in the wheelwells of trucks. There was a real good explanation of the Ag Inspection Stations and what they do in the Quarantee episode of Gastropod. You can find the episode (and a transcript, I believe) here (https://gastropod.com/chocpocalypse-now-quarantine-and-the-future-of-food/) (https://gastropod.com/chocpocalypse-now-quarantine-and-the-future-of-food/)
Daniel
I still maintain it is incredibly inefficient to slow or stop non commercial traffic at the Ag Stations. Almost every other state that does Ag inspection does it only for commercial vehicles via a grade separation. The years I spent in Florida really illustrated how illogically Ag inspections are done in California.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 19, 2022, 11:33:38 AMI still maintain it is incredibly inefficient to slow or stop non commercial traffic at the Ag Stations. Almost every other state that does Ag inspection does it only for commercial vehicles via a grade separation. The years I spent in Florida really illustrated how illogically Ag inspections are done in California.
The standard justification for having an agricultural inspection regime that stops all traffic, including noncommercial traffic, relies on two points:
* California is isolated from the rest of the US by oceans, mountains, and deserts, so its ecosystems have not had an opportunity to adapt to pests that can hitch rides on vehicles of all kinds.
* Even small cars can transport enough of a load of pests to start a major and costly infestation (one example commonly cited is wood borers in cut firewood).
This is not to say that agricultural inspection can't be overdone. I have long suspected it is uniquely aggressive in California partly because the state has a powerful agriculture lobby and the same geographical isolation that makes some form of inspection necessary for ecological reasons feeds an exceptionalist mindset that is also evident in the highway signing. However, it is formidably complex to assess whether and to what extent the inspections constitute overkill.
Quote from: J N Winkler on February 19, 2022, 01:00:35 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 19, 2022, 11:33:38 AMI still maintain it is incredibly inefficient to slow or stop non commercial traffic at the Ag Stations. Almost every other state that does Ag inspection does it only for commercial vehicles via a grade separation. The years I spent in Florida really illustrated how illogically Ag inspections are done in California.
The standard justification for having an agricultural inspection regime that stops all traffic, including noncommercial traffic, relies on two points:
* California is isolated from the rest of the US by oceans, mountains, and deserts, so its ecosystems have not had an opportunity to adapt to pests that can hitch rides on vehicles of all kinds.
* Even small cars can transport enough of a load of pests to start a major and costly infestation (one example commonly cited is wood borers in cut firewood).
This is not to say that agricultural inspection can't be overdone. I have long suspected it is uniquely aggressive in California partly because the state has a powerful agriculture lobby and the same geographical isolation that makes some form of inspection necessary for ecological reasons feeds an exceptionalist mindset that is also evident in the highway signing. However, it is formidably complex to assess whether and to what extent the inspections constitute overkill.
I get all that but it still doesn't make it incredibly unlikely to have an origin point from a non-commercial vehicle. Doubly so when you consider the only major agricultural area near a state line is in Imperial Valley. In all these years living in and around Fresno with all this Ag stuff I've never even heard of a passenger car borne pest outbreak.
Plus they don't even stop to check. I have made the trip to Vegas hundreds of times with heavily tinted windows not to mention having a trunk or covered truck bed(depending what vehicle I'm in) and I can only recall one time I was ever asked if I had any fruits or nuts or plants. The other 99.99 percent of the time they were waving me and everyone else through. I just don't understand it.
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on February 19, 2022, 03:59:06 PM
Plus they don't even stop to check. I have made the trip to Vegas hundreds of times with heavily tinted windows not to mention having a trunk or covered truck bed(depending what vehicle I'm in) and I can only recall one time I was ever asked if I had any fruits or nuts or plants. The other 99.99 percent of the time they were waving me and everyone else through. I just don't understand it.
Right, they can't stop every non-commercial vehicle because it's impractical. Even the slow down of regular traffic can cause huge backups, hence a large part of the issue with the location of the new Ag station on I-15. Even the old station in Yermo created huge backups. At least that segment was solidly four lanes for a long while and there was an escape via Old US 91-466 on Yermo Road.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 19, 2022, 04:03:02 PM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on February 19, 2022, 03:59:06 PM
Plus they don't even stop to check. I have made the trip to Vegas hundreds of times with heavily tinted windows not to mention having a trunk or covered truck bed(depending what vehicle I'm in) and I can only recall one time I was ever asked if I had any fruits or nuts or plants. The other 99.99 percent of the time they were waving me and everyone else through. I just don't understand it.
Right, they can't stop every non-commercial vehicle because it's impractical. Even the slow down of regular traffic can cause huge backups, hence a large part of the issue with the location of the new Ag station on I-15. Even the old station in Yermo created huge backups. At least that segment was solidly four lanes for a long while and there was an escape via Old US 91-466 on Yermo Road.
The new station moves traffic, until it doesn't. They can add as many lanes as they want to I-15 but I'm convinced the serious backups won't be solved until the AG checkpoint for regular traffic is removed, if that ever happens.
EDIT: Moved reply out of quotes. –Roadfro
What's also really odd is that California also tends to have regular lanes blocked off to the left of the station. Why build regular lanes bypassing the station if you're never going to use them? Why not just build the station on the road like a customs station at the border?
Because building bypass lanes at the time the station is constructed is cheap, and "never" is a long long time.
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on February 19, 2022, 04:14:06 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 19, 2022, 04:03:02 PM
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on February 19, 2022, 03:59:06 PM
Plus they don't even stop to check. I have made the trip to Vegas hundreds of times with heavily tinted windows not to mention having a trunk or covered truck bed(depending what vehicle I'm in) and I can only recall one time I was ever asked if I had any fruits or nuts or plants. The other 99.99 percent of the time they were waving me and everyone else through. I just don't understand it.
Right, they can't stop every non-commercial vehicle because it's impractical. Even the slow down of regular traffic can cause huge backups, hence a large part of the issue with the location of the new Ag station on I-15. Even the old station in Yermo created huge backups. At least that segment was solidly four lanes for a long while and there was an escape via Old US 91-466 on Yermo Road.
The new station moves traffic, until it doesn't. They can add as many lanes as they want to I-15 but I'm convinced the serious backups won't be solved until the AG checkpoint for regular traffic is removed, if that ever happens.
EDIT: Moved reply out of quotes. –Roadfro
I went through the old Yermo station while coming home from Zion in 2016. It was the middle of a weekday, so traffic wasn't too bad. I also saw a bit of the new station near the state line.
Quote from: vdeane on February 19, 2022, 05:33:35 PM
What's also really odd is that California also tends to have regular lanes blocked off to the left of the station. Why build regular lanes bypassing the station if you're never going to use them? Why not just build the station on the road like a customs station at the border?
Because those "regular lanes" are the original freeway lanes that were bypassed to build the new station, which required more land (and because if you were going to build it over the original lanes, you would have to close the freeway). Build the new station, open the bypass, close the original lanes. They are left there in case of emergency.
I mentioned this on another thread, but it is interesting that the bypassed lanes on the I-15 Ag station still has a mileage sign for Baker, Barstow, and L.A. The sign is in perfect postion for the now closed lanes, but is a little hard to see if you came through the Ag station and probably impossible to see from the truck lanes.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5142452,-115.4321122,3a,15y,184.74h,88.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sER7RIRygbXRERa4MQp5xOQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
[Another mileage sign comes up along the main highway in about 2 miles after all the traffic merges back into 3 lanes after passing the Ag station.]
I have never seen these closed, but my last few trips from AZ to CA via both I-8 and I-10 they were unmanned.
you still had to go through one of the open lanes, but there wasn't a person there even looking at passenger cars or asking you any questions. There may have been someone at the truck lanes, i can't recall.
Previous to that, at those stations they used to have a person who just waved you through.
The only time anyone has talked to me in the past 5+ years was the 395 south out of Nevada. I had a rental car with New Jersey license plates and he asked me some questions like where I was coming from and going, etc.
Driving down I-5 from Oregon into California yesterday, the southbound station near Exit 790 was unmanned for the first time I can recall in all my trips that way. It was apparently because the smoke from the wildfire west of Yreka was so horrible that they couldn't have employees standing out there for any amount of time; visibility was probably in the 1/2 mile vicinity if that.
Quote from: cahwyguy on February 21, 2022, 01:27:51 PM
Quote from: vdeane on February 19, 2022, 05:33:35 PM
What's also really odd is that California also tends to have regular lanes blocked off to the left of the station. Why build regular lanes bypassing the station if you're never going to use them? Why not just build the station on the road like a customs station at the border?
Because those "regular lanes" are the original freeway lanes that were bypassed to build the new station, which required more land (and because if you were going to build it over the original lanes, you would have to close the freeway). Build the new station, open the bypass, close the original lanes. They are left there in case of emergency.
I think a couple of them are signed as runaway truck ramps or similar, but don't quote me on that.
Quote from: cl94 on August 04, 2022, 04:28:02 PM
Quote from: cahwyguy on February 21, 2022, 01:27:51 PM
Quote from: vdeane on February 19, 2022, 05:33:35 PM
What's also really odd is that California also tends to have regular lanes blocked off to the left of the station. Why build regular lanes bypassing the station if you're never going to use them? Why not just build the station on the road like a customs station at the border?
Because those "regular lanes" are the original freeway lanes that were bypassed to build the new station, which required more land (and because if you were going to build it over the original lanes, you would have to close the freeway). Build the new station, open the bypass, close the original lanes. They are left there in case of emergency.
I think a couple of them are signed as runaway truck ramps or similar, but don't quote me on that.
That Hornbrook station on I-5 is a good example of that. It's at the bottom of a hill coming down from the Siskiyou Summit area. Brakeless trucks are advised to avoid the stopped traffic at the inspection station by blasting through the plastic bollards and proceeding onto the original freeway lanes, like so:
https://goo.gl/maps/waybkUvnMFbTmQi19 (https://goo.gl/maps/waybkUvnMFbTmQi19)
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.
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.
Quote from: Plutonic Panda on August 04, 2022, 10:46:08 PM
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]
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.
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).
The Ivanpah/Mountain Pass station was open two weeks ago Monday when I drove through there.
When I went through Needles on EB I-40 at the end of October, the inspection station going WB there appeared to be open.
Quote from: lstone19 on November 28, 2022, 09:52:38 PM
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.
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?"
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.
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.
Quote from: kkt on November 29, 2022, 02:36:58 PM
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.
Quote from: cl94 on November 29, 2022, 10:58:52 PM
Quote from: kkt on November 29, 2022, 02:36:58 PM
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.
Quote from: kphoger on December 01, 2022, 02:28:32 PM
Quote from: cl94 on November 29, 2022, 10:58:52 PM
Quote from: kkt on November 29, 2022, 02:36:58 PM
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." :-D 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.
The ag stations only exist in NorCal in American Truck Simulator.