Quote:
Originally Posted by RedBaron
How do these "rolling smog checkpoints" work?? Is it a sniff test, or do they pull you over and plug into your OBDII port? In CT, when I had they had to do a sniff test on my S2, it was a huge PITA. I can't imagine they would pull you over and make you go through one. I think they would much rather pull over a slammed chitbox audi that has a "dope" decal to check for a decat by plugging into the obdii port.
|
The purpose of the checks is to collect data on cars in operation, more specifically, cars that have recently passed a smog check and are now on the road. It is not designed to get clunkers off the road rather, it is designed to see if there is a large discrepancy between the percentage of cars that pass the biannual test and, later, fail emissions tests while in operation.
It's a 10 minute check and can be a PITA if you don't want to spend the time, so it is not mandatory to participate. However, the CHP are the ones that pull you out of the traffic lanes because of legal reasons so your first encounter is with a LEO. They, no doubt, do not go out of their way to tell you it is a voluntary test-- that comes from the BAR officials that conduct the test. It wouldn't surprise me if they take a "don't ask, don't tell" stance on informing the drivers that the test is voluntary.