The California Highway Patrol has rolled out a new fleet of patrol vehicles locally and across the state, hoping to put a stop to speeding and other dangers on the road.
“We know that people drive aggressively, they drive dangerously, but we also know that they don't do that when they see a black and white,” said CHP Captain Mike Brown.
One-hundred of the low-profile, specially-marked patrol vehicles are being put into service throughout California to enforce safe driving on the roads.
WATCH: Ride along in CHP's new incognito patrol vehicle
Brown says there are about 14 of these vehicles currently patrolling the Central Coast. Each office in the CHP's Coastal Division has been assigned at least one.
“Back in the 80s and 90s, we had Caprices that were different colors, but they always had the white door,” Brown said, adding that the completely black exterior of the new vehicles helps disguise them.
“So there's no push bumpers on the front. There's no spotlights. The antenna configuration has been simplified to try and help it to blend into traffic,” he said.
Community members have mixed feelings about the new fleet.
“Well, I feel like people are just going to naturally adapt to, you know, whatever they see," said San Luis Obispo County resident Aeon Combs. "It's probably going to have the same effect over time as when [people] see a regular police cruiser.”
“Anything they do that reduces traffic accidents is a blessing, so if that's going to help reduce our traffic accidents, I'm all for it,” said another SLO County resident, Marvin Dee.
Since the vehicles are brand new to the Central Coast, the CHP can’t say how many people have been pulled over yet, but Brown says that in just a week, they have already caught a number of speeders.
All 100 of these low-profile vehicles will be deployed throughout California by early June.
According to Brown, depending on the results from the new fleet, there is a possibility that more of these vehicles will be around in the future.
