Viewer reports: Cathedral City checkpoint was car emissions check
On Tuesday, we received a number of calls and emails into the News Channel 3 newsroom from viewers wondering who was conducting an active checkpoint in Cathedral City.
The checkpoint was out near Gerald Ford and Plumley Drive. California Highway Patrol officers were guiding drivers between the cones.
Many wondered if it was an immigration checkpoint.
We made some calls and found out from CHP that the Bureau of Automotive Repair was conducting an emissions check on random vehicles. It’s a state agency that sets up these voluntary smog checks across the state to collect data.
The survey provides an overview of the emissions emitted by vehicles driven on California’s roads.
It’s a voluntary check, they do not ask for your driver's license and any information regarding your vehicle is not reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The Bureau of Automotive Repair, or BAR, will be set up in a La Quinta location on Wednesday, CHP officials confirmed.
Sergeant Pena from the Indio CHP office reiterated that this is not an immigration checkpoint.
To learn more about these voluntary inspections and random checkpoints, visit www.bar.ca.gov and search roadside inspection.