Are there still inspection stations in use on the borders of Arizona and California?

Factual Questions
21

In 1995 I drove to Cali from Boston and was not aware there was an “INSPECTION STATION” at the I40 Needles border. Now being from Boston, I need pavement, crowds, and lots of bright lights so after 25 hours of sleep deprived, hungover, speeding through a thousand miles of rock and dust, I really needed to get to a busy port city to recharge.

The thing is, I mistook “INSPECTION STATION” to mean automobile emissions inspection and while waiting in the line, I was already calculating the time it would take me to haul my sorry emissions-modified (straight pipe past the cat) Chevy back to whence I came. All JC Whitney Catalog subscribers know that CA is the Soup Nazi of car emissions and who would think that fruit screening was a higher priority.

The kindly Wilfred Brimley looking dude at the station said his peace, asked his flora and fauna style questions and bid us welcome. I stayed a few extra days in Needles drinking amongst the many alcoholic Indians and chowing some pretty good Mexican food just to get my head straight about this foreign land where they scare young people with goofy ambiguously-labeled checkpoints.

22

I thought this was going to be a rant over the stupid Border Patrol checkpoints(harassment points) I have to go through everyday on the way to work in New Mexico.

US citizen? Yes.
Where you going?
What are you doing there?
Where are you coming from?
Where do you live?
Where do you work?
Is this your vehicle?
Is that spare tire for your vehicle?
Is this a factory bedliner?
Whats in the bag on your passenger seat?
What type of work do you do?
Are you originally from this area?
Are you the only one in this vehicle? (one dude in a pickup :smack: )
Have you been to mexico lately?
Are you the original owner of this vehicle?

Gets ridiculous as they tap on the gas tank and fenderwells. The dogs, the lines, the 15 Border Patrol agents 80 miles from the border with their thumbs firmly lodged in their ass staring at one person that is actually doing anything.

Since they legally can only do a few things, my answers have become rather terse(I deal with this crap everyday).

US citizen? Yes (and if I wasn’t wouldn’t they BORDER PATROL have caught me on the BORDER if they were actually :rolleyes: on the BORDER)
Where are you headed? North :mad:
Where are you coming from? South :mad:
Have a good day sir. Thank you (for wasting my time, AGAIN) :mad:

As to the OP the last time I went to CA the AG checkpoint on I-10 was closed and looked pretty well abandoned, about 18 months ago.

23

When we moved to CA from IA last November we were stopped at the Truckee inspection station on I-80. They asked all the standard questions, and after we showed them the one pathetic apple we got in Winnemucca, NV, they waved us through and bid us welcome.

It was kind of a shock being stopped, though. I had only heard of agricultural inspection stations at international borders, never between states. What is the reasoning behind screening everything coming into the state? Is CA especially susceptible to veggie-related nasties?

24

[QUOTE=bubba jr]
I thought this was going to be a rant over the stupid Border Patrol checkpoints(harassment points) I have to go through everyday on the way to work in New Mexico.
[/QUOTE]

That’s what I thought, as well. I’ve only experienced it twice, though: both ways on my trip to Arizona from Texas this year. Heading west, I had no idea that there would be a check point, and I had my driver’s license ready by the time I got waved through. On the way back, though… a suspicious look (at me, single white female in a Malibu), “Is this your car?” … no, the boss provided it for the job…… I was a little nervous. And then quite annoyed.

Do those checkpoints actually accomplish anything useful?

25

They keep the fruit flies out.

26

[QUOTE=Kerrigan]
That’s what I thought, as well. I’ve only experienced it twice, though: both ways on my trip to Arizona from Texas this year. Heading west, I had no idea that there would be a check point, and I had my driver’s license ready by the time I got waved through. On the way back, though… a suspicious look (at me, single white female in a Malibu), “Is this your car?” … no, the boss provided it for the job…… I was a little nervous. And then quite annoyed.

Do those checkpoints actually accomplish anything useful?
[/QUOTE]

I have only once ever seen anything accomplished, the Border Patrol had a Taurus wagon up on ramps, had the gas tank out it and they were pulling bricks of marijuana out of the tank, lots of bricks.

On the highway they manage to turn a non-busy desolate road into a huge traffic jam, but I don’t think that is an accomplishment.

I do think it cuts down a bit on the drunkdriving.

Most of the time I think they know what they are looking for, if there is one vehicle pulled over being searched, its usually quite a few of the same vehicle. Like 4 dark blue SUVs, or 3 black pick ups.

They don’t even keep their scoreboards of #s of drugs seized and illegals apprehended anymore, they have been plastered over with “join the border patrol and you too can stand around and harass people”.

Honestly, half the time they just wave you through, 45% of the time they just ask if you are a US citizen, its those other 5% of times I go through that really aggravates me. Its usually by an agent that I have never seen before, and for some reason never see again.

I’m still waiting for the day they want to inspect my open bag of dogfood. Nice heavy bags, so once the dogs finish a bag, the kitty box gets emptied into it, goes in the back of the truck and goes in the dumpster at the shop.

27

[QUOTE=KlondikeGeoff]
Years ago in CA we always called them “the bug stations.”
[/QUOTE]

Back in the Fifties there used to be stations like this between Ohio and West Virginia; dunno know why. A very young acquaintance of my parents liked to cheerily and loudly tell the inspectors, “No bugs today!”