What are the roadside smog check/inspections for?

[C-2]

I haven't seen one in several years...but they just set up shop. A couple of trailers with a CHP unit. If I remember correctly, they are voluntary inspections, meaning, you can refuse?

 

[Brian]

Yes, you could refuse.

 

[Sharky]

Wonder if you pass the free inspection, can you skip going to a shop and having to pay for an inspection?

They have something like that in Colorado. Roadside, automated, takes a picture of your plate.

Pass 3 in a years span, you don't have to go in (and waste an hour or more) and have to pay for a test.

 

[RaceTec]

They recently did a commercial crack down here in HB and nailed a few people. The others are mostly to catch modified vehicles as far as I can tell? I heard about them checking exhaust and decibel level too...

 

[Maw]

They recently did a commercial crack down here in HB and nailed a few people. The others are mostly to catch modified vehicles as far as I can tell? I heard about them checking exhaust and decibel level too...

Was that the mess on Bolsa Chica near McFadden a month or so ago?

 

[Kachina26]

@dribble

 

[SBMech]

They are looking for cat deletes, loud exhaust (indicating a modified or delete system) coal rollers etc.

I am not aware if you can refuse or not if you are flagged.

 

[Livewire Fabworks]

We live in Upland ca and there was one a couple of months ago on the north bound side of mountain just below the 210. They had a pretty good line going. Not sure if you can refuse it. That would kind of go against why they are doing it, but then again we are in California and nothing makes sense anymore. You could probably pull up and say you are an illegal in Spanish, in something that is smoking like Cheech and Chongs van, without current registration, no license, and no insurance and they would let you bypass it.

 

[HALLETT BOY]

We live in Upland ca and there was one a couple of months ago on the north bound side of mountain just below the 210. They had a pretty good line going. Not sure if you can refuse it. That would kind of go against why they are doing it, but then again we are in California and nothing makes sense anymore. You could probably pull up and say you are an illegal in Spanish, in something that is smoking like Cheech and Chongs van, without current registration, no license, and no insurance and they would let you bypass it.

That’s exactly true ! I’ve seen it happen .

 

[SpectraPat]

They recently did a commercial crack down here in HB and nailed a few people. The others are mostly to catch modified vehicles as far as I can tell? I heard about them checking exhaust and decibel level too...

I wonder if these will get tagged for db level.

 

[Racey]

We live in Upland ca and there was one a couple of months ago on the north bound side of mountain just below the 210. They had a pretty good line going. Not sure if you can refuse it. That would kind of go against why they are doing it, but then again we are in California and nothing makes sense anymore. You could probably pull up and say you are an illegal in Spanish, in something that is smoking like Cheech and Chongs van, without current registration, no license, and no insurance and they would let you bypass it.

Clownifornia

 

[C-2]

The reason I ask is...can they write you for a violation?

 

[Kachina26]

The reason I ask is...can they write you for a violation?

No.

Roadside Inspection Program

Summary of BAR's Roadside Inspection Program.

www.bar.ca.gov

 

[Livewire Fabworks]

The reason I ask is...can they write you for a violation?

I had a run in with one back in the early 2000's in Long Beach and I can tell you I drove away with what would be a $1000 ticket later and a trip to the smog refere. Granted I had a not so smog friendly, heavly modified 1990 454ss truck.

 

[C-2]

My wife, daughter and I got into a heated argument a few weeks back about going thru a DUI checkpoint, sober.

They said nothing to worry about.

I said bullshit, they will write you for anything they can find.

Daughter is a criminal justice major and said they can't do that.

I argued... yes they can, and they do.

Or am I wrong?

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

My wife, daughter and I got into a heated argument a few weeks back about going thru a DUI checkpoint, sober.

They said nothing to worry about.

I said bullshit, they will write you for anything they can find.

Daughter is a criminal justice major and said they can't do that.

I argued... yes they can, and they do.

Or am I wrong?

Well your daughter should be advising you to know your rights before going through a DUI checkpoint. It’s a game and if you don’t know the rules you’ve already lost.

 

[BabyRay]

They quit testing in Washington four years ago.

 

[The Prisoner]

Just go around it. If they stop you tell them your fireplace needs wood, your gas leaf blower is running and you will vote for Trump next year. They will let you pass no problem.

 

[4Waters]

My wife, daughter and I got into a heated argument a few weeks back about going thru a DUI checkpoint, sober.

They said nothing to worry about.

I said bullshit, they will write you for anything they can find.

Daughter is a criminal justice major and said they can't do that.

I argued... yes they can, and they do.

Or am I wrong?

Yes they will, they write for no front plate, tint, expired license, expired tags.... most stuff they write up are fix-it tickets.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

They are looking for cat deletes, loud exhaust (indicating a modified or delete system) coal rollers etc.

I am not aware if you can refuse or not if you are flagged.

Every time I had a CHP roll up behind in my deleted 250 with 5" Straight pipe with AZ plates I shit a brick....lol

 

[Jefftowz]

I was told the checkpoints are there to check the car and if heavily modified or smokers and had a smog check a week ago they could go after smog stations that are passing cars that shouldn’t be.

 

[dribble]

This has come up before. The Roadside Inspection Program is a data gathering tool only. It is part of the State Implementation Program (SIP) required by the EPA. The data gathered in the random roadside is compared to the data in the regular program.

If there are too many anomalies found, (ie a ten percent tamper rate in roadside compared a one percent tamper rate in smog testing) then that tells the EPA that our program is not effective in detecting tampers. This would give the EPA (through CARB) a reason to require California go to Centralized testing performed by the state or state contractors.

If the pass/fail/tamper rates are within a given metric then that tells the EPA that the current program integrity is solid.

The reason why you can’t use that test as your required test is because the data is not co-mingled with your vehicle’s regular smog check data. It is only used for evaluating the program as a whole. The vehicle is not flagged for Star or Referee testing.

There has never been a citation issued in the roadside program. The vehicle is not flagged and individual test results are not shared with BAR Enforcement. When I worked there I couldn’t even bring up a roadside test on any vehicle. So if a truck failed for being deleted and chipped on one day and it was certified and passed in a smog shop that same day, I would only be able to access the test performed on the shop.

CHP is contracted to direct the traffic because BAR reps don’t have that authority. There have been a limited number of DUI arrests at these checkpoints in the interest of public safety.

If you have the time and you’re driving a pre-2000 model year vehicle, you should let them test it. That way you’ll know if it will pass the test beforehand.

 

[RaceTec]

Was that the mess on Bolsa Chica near McFadden a month or so ago?

The one over by the shop nailed a few people but it was more centered on commercial vehicles. There were about 6 CHP vehicles there.

Commerical Vehicles -Avoid HB Bolsa Chica!

Avoid Bolsa Chica just past Westminster Boulevard. They have some sort of multi agency task force, towing all kinds of commercial vehicles stay out unless you want the headache.!

www.riverdavesplace.com

We have had a couple smog ones local, I remember one on Graham a couple years ago for smog and I heard they were handing out tickets. There were normal PD at those ones.

 

[adam909]

Every time I had a CHP roll up behind in my deleted 250 with 5" Straight pipe with AZ plates I shit a brick....lol

this is the main reason to stay away from delete. Its just not worth the risk in California. The fine just isnt worth it. The fine can replace the factory smog system twice. Deleted trucks stand out like no other.. . Plus it makes them louder which sucks..

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

this is the main reason to stay away from delete. Its just not worth the risk in California. The fine just isnt worth it. The fine can replace the factory smog system twice. Deleted trucks stand out like no other.. . Plus it makes them louder which sucks..

I ended up getting rid of it. Never got hassled but thoroughly enjoy not having every person stare at me in the parking lot. Neighbors probably much happier too...lol

 

[Kachina26]

This has come up before. The Roadside Inspection Program is a data gathering tool only. It is part of the State Implementation Program (SIP) required by the EPA. The data gathered in the random roadside is compared to the data in the regular program.

If there are too many anomalies found, (ie a ten percent tamper rate in roadside compared a one percent tamper rate in smog testing) then that tells the EPA that our program is not effective in detecting tampers. This would give the EPA (through CARB) a reason to require California go to Centralized testing performed by the state or state contractors.

If the pass/fail/tamper rates are within a given metric then that tells the EPA that the current program integrity is solid.

The reason why you can’t use that test as your required test is because the data is not co-mingled with your vehicle’s regular smog check data. It is only used for evaluating the program as a whole. The vehicle is not flagged for Star or Referee testing.

There has never been a citation issued in the roadside program. The vehicle is not flagged and individual test results are not shared with BAR Enforcement. When I worked there I couldn’t even bring up a roadside test on any vehicle. So if a truck failed for being deleted and chipped on one day and it was certified and passed in a smog shop that same day, I would only be able to access the test performed on the shop.

CHP is contracted to direct the traffic because BAR reps don’t have that authority. There have been a limited number of DUI arrests at these checkpoints in the interest of public safety.

If you have the time and you’re driving a pre-2000 model year vehicle, you should let them test it. That way you’ll know if it will pass the test beforehand.

Someone will be along shortly to tell you why you're completely wrong.
In the mean time, I thank you for your detailed answer. You said it a lot better than I could have.

 

[C-2]

This has come up before. The Roadside Inspection Program is a data gathering tool only. It is part of the State Implementation Program (SIP) required by the EPA. The data gathered in the random roadside is compared to the data in the regular program.

If there are too many anomalies found, (ie a ten percent tamper rate in roadside compared a one percent tamper rate in smog testing) then that tells the EPA that our program is not effective in detecting tampers. This would give the EPA (through CARB) a reason to require California go to Centralized testing performed by the state or state contractors.

If the pass/fail/tamper rates are within a given metric then that tells the EPA that the current program integrity is solid.

The reason why you can’t use that test as your required test is because the data is not co-mingled with your vehicle’s regular smog check data. It is only used for evaluating the program as a whole. The vehicle is not flagged for Star or Referee testing.

There has never been a citation issued in the roadside program. The vehicle is not flagged and individual test results are not shared with BAR Enforcement. When I worked there I couldn’t even bring up a roadside test on any vehicle. So if a truck failed for being deleted and chipped on one day and it was certified and passed in a smog shop that same day, I would only be able to access the test performed on the shop.

CHP is contracted to direct the traffic because BAR reps don’t have that authority. There have been a limited number of DUI arrests at these checkpoints in the interest of public safety.

If you have the time and you’re driving a pre-2000 model year vehicle, you should let them test it. That way you’ll know if it will pass the test beforehand.

Thanks for your detailed response.

 

[FlyByWire]

Someone will be along shortly to tell you why you're completely wrong.
In the mean time, I thank you for your detailed answer. You said it a lot better than I could have.

I’ve worked MANNNNNY of these in LA, and he answered it better than I could, and nobody would believe me if I said what he did.

 

[2Driver]

We live in Upland ca and there was one a couple of months ago on the north bound side of mountain just below the 210. They had a pretty good line going. Not sure if you can refuse it. That would kind of go against why they are doing it, but then again we are in California and nothing makes sense anymore. You could probably pull up and say you are an illegal in Spanish, in something that is smoking like Cheech and Chongs van, without current registration, no license, and no insurance and they would let you bypass it.

 

[C-2]

Well your daughter should be advising you to know your rights before going through a DUI checkpoint. It’s a game and if you don’t know the rules you’ve already lost.

Agreed. The issue with the kiddo is understanding the difference between reading laws/codes in books, and seeing how they are enforced in the real world. Yes, she's at "that" age where she's smucking farter than everybody else.

 

[lbhsbz]

The reason I ask is...can they write you for a violation?

No.

They are looking to compare results with the latest emissions test the vehicle received. You run run through one of catless and burning dirty…they won’t go after you, they’ll go after the smog shop that clean piped the last test…as they should.

You can tell them to fuckoff if you’d like, and they will wave you through.

I have no problems as my junk is all stock, compliant, and in good working order. I tell them to fuckoff out of principle.

 

[dribble]

I was told the checkpoints are there to check the car and if heavily modified or smokers and had a smog check a week ago they could go after smog stations that are passing cars that shouldn’t be.

You were told wrong.