The California Highway Patrol is stepping up patrols across San Luis Obispo County.
KSBY got to see the CHP in action this week along a busy stretch of Highway 46 between Paso Robles and Shandon, but that isn’t the only area where patrols will be ramped up over the coming year.
CHP officers are always on the lookout for speeding, distracted driving, and reckless driving--but thanks to new federal funding, you may see more officers patrolling local highways.
On busy days, the CHP will deploy more officers along Highways 101, 41, and 46, as well as Highway 58 and Highway 1.
“We always see people speeding way too fast, trying to get to somewhere for no reason or they aren’t paying attention to their speed, they aren’t paying attention to how they’re driving,” said Officer Barry Williams with CHP Templeton.
Within a two-hour ride along, Officer Williams pulled over five drivers for speeding on Highway 46 West just east of Paso Robles.
Drivers were caught going between 85 and 105 miles per hour on a notoriously busy and dangerous stretch of Highway 46.
“I’ve been working on the Central Coast for 14 years. Most of the crashes that I’ve responded to and handled are because of speed and people not paying attention,” said Officer Williams.
Officers will also be stepping patrols looking for signs that someone may be driving under the influence.
The extra enforcement will happen on days with high traffic volume on freeways and highways across SLO County.
The CHP is using grant funding to support the extra enforcement.
