Putting the Patrol Back Into CHP

Some of us drive so crazy on our freeways, we’ve been taking the patrol out of the California Highway Patrol.

The original intent of the CHP, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this summer, was to cruise the roadways on patrol, to enforce our driving laws. But too often these days in urban areas, its officers are distracted by other duties of more immediate importance. They’re busy racing from crashes to disabled motorists to dangerous scenes where careless drivers have strewn debris from the backs of their vehicles.

“Some days, we are just so busy it leaves little time for actual patrol,” said Joann O’Hair, spokeswoman for the CHP’s Santa Ana office.

But the CHP is about to switch gears, reemphasizing patrol in a way that’s going to annoy a lot of bad drivers. And CHP headquarters in Sacramento credits its San Juan Capistrano office with the new plan.

It’s called ADAPT, for Aggressive Driver Apprehension Team. San Juan Capistrano CHP officers created it last year. One officer is assigned full time to nailing aggressive drivers. He doesn’t have to work a beat or get pulled off to help out at accident scenes.

“That officer does nothing but look for tailgaters, speeders, people making unsafe lane changes,” said Joan Rivas, spokeswoman for the San Juan Capistrano office.

As you might have guessed, there’s no shortage of work.

“Some people just go!” she said. “They have no regard for other drivers. They are rude, selfish and reckless.”

And fast, too. The CHP catches at least one person each day driving in excess of 100 miles an hour on the San Joaquin Hills toll road. Other drivers are caught doing 90 mph in heavy traffic. That inherently means quick and frequent lane changes, and riding others’ bumpers.

The Santa Ana and Westminster offices have already joined the campaign against aggressive drivers. But Steve Kohler, spokesman for CHP Sacramento headquarters, said the program will expand statewide beginning next month. Overtime money will be provided in some instances to assure that it’s effective.

It will mean more enforcement and less response, as O’Hair calls it. On the CHP Web site, it notes that CHP duties have expanded “to functions undreamed of in 1929.”

Such as: clearing tire treads from the freeway, chasing cows off California 74, assisting roadwork crews, slowing down traffic approaching an accident--and periodic car chases. One CHP officer recently had to help a woman who was convinced another driver was stalking her.

All those side duties make it easier for aggressive drivers to have their way with the rest of us. But O’Hair warns that it’s not just aggressive drivers causing havoc.

“It’s inattention that causes most accidents,” she said. “People are reading maps while they drive, or talking to the kids in back, or putting on makeup, or talking on their cell phones. Doing anything but paying attention to their surroundings.”

Here’s a good tip I picked up while on telephone hold with the San Juan Capistrano office. A CHP officer’s voice says: “Frequent unsafe lane changes slow everyone down. Go with the flow and stick to one lane.”

By the way, I can add a new twist to the list of tasks for CHP officers. While I was driving on the Santa Ana Freeway on Friday, traffic ground to a halt unexpectedly. It was quite an eye-opener when my car reached the trouble spot: A large chicken was pecking at pebbles on the right shoulder.

Only one thing you can do with a runaway hen: Call the CHP.