California Highway Patrol

On Cinco de Mayo, I was involved in a hit-​and-​run collision on 580-​E. CHP showed up — were polite, professional (and, coincidentally, all good looking) and took my report and the reports from witnesses (including witnesses who chased down the driver and got his plate and description). CHP went and talked with the driver — turns out he has a suspended license, no insurance, driving his dead mom’s car (if he couldn’t possibly be more of a stereotype of a loser/​lowlife — his facebook page photos are of him sitting on his sofa smoking pot, complaining about his girlfriend, etc).
The CHP officer called me a couple of times to follow-​up with me on the status of the investigation and to give me information about next steps. I visited the CHP office on Telegraph and found the staff there to be very professional, patient and thorough. The office is small and you may have to wait — but if you are clear and understand that there are certain things that they can’t legally advise on (or may not know) — you’ll do great. The woman at the front desk was friendly and helpful on the phone and in person — great to know that such an efficient, professional group of folks are in our area!

The woman at the front desk doesn’t even know how to do basic job functions. Even the most basic human interactions seemed to be a chore. I understand your job IS a chore but you are receiving a paycheck, probably with benefits, not a $ 20/​weekly allowance from your parents. Speaking to me as if I am some kind of career criminal with a past of selling endangered animals to kindergarteners. My paperwork was done incorrectly so I had to come back 2 times, who wants to be in a place like THAT more than needed. People that go into CHP are probably already having bad days, your crappy attitude just proves that you deserve all the nasty things people say to you personally (office lady at the front desk). Piece of advice: have a nice day, it might be contagious some day.

Came to collect my police report here. Although it was timely for the report to be completed but nothing outside of the expected time. The staff at the window were always welcoming, as i expected they would have been like patty and selma at the dmv. Even the chp in uniform were nice and helpful. They only accept exact change form of payments. Cash only, but thats just something to be aware of. No complaints here. Hopefully never need to go back but if i do itll lessen the anguish of such an unfortunate situation.

Last Wednesday around 11:15am my tire blew out on 580 and as a result, my litle ’91 Nissan went up an embankment and rolled over near Park Blvd. The CHP was there is less than a minute, brought me to his car and buckled me in (I was pretty shaken up,) calmed me down and and made sure I was safe. He contacted an ambulance and I was brought to Kaiser. When we went to J&B Tow on 86^th yesterday we found that the CHP and tow truck driver had gathered the expensive tools that had fallen out of the trunk when it flew open, the iPod, gps, phone chargers, etc. Our belongings were waiting for us and Chuck from the tow place found my iPhone in the car, which was a bonus. I am lucky, no, I am blessed to be alive and can’t say a big enough thank you to the CHP. I wish I could remember his name to tell him thanks in person.

Hey, I have an idea, how about do your job, do it honestly, with integrity, help a citizen when they need you to and don’t be an egotistical jerk.
I am family of police but more so I am family of military and at that military that have died serving my country. I will address them with utmost respect and always refer to them as ma’am and sir, but giving respect means getting respect and if you’re not respectful to me or if I see you not being respectful to someone else, I will call you out on it.
You are no better just because you have a car with lights on it.
I will address you as your job title and expect you to do your job; serve and protect.
IMO, this branch has a whole lot to learn and overhearing a few of you and your racist, sexist and just idiotic comments literally make me sick to know that you carry a gun and have the control to make decisions on other peoples lives. I hope there are changes soon.
Karma my friends. Karma.

Some guy road rages on me and runs me off the on ramp at 27^th. I call 911 and catch up to the guy and provide the dispatcher with his plate. She broadcasts it and lets me go.
The next day I come in to fill out a report because he actually pushed me into the photo enforced intersection and I wanted a report so I could defend myself against that $ 500 ticket/​1 point. A heavy set African American officer comes out and treats me like garbage right off the bat. Asking me for some incident number I’ve never heard of and got real annoyed that I didn’t have it. Had me fill out a written statement and said someone would follow up with me… Never happened. Basically treated me like a perp the whole time. God forbid I interrupt your morning coffee… I’m an academy graduate that got injured on my way out. Let me just say you are the exact opposite of what they train is to be. If your tired if your job find a new one and stop treating people like crap, especially when it’s the Vic.

Here’s the shuffle in this Oakland CHP game.
With no anger on any officer doing his/​her job, I’d like some time to describe an experience which might be considered a rarity, for argument sake.
Sometime around 2000 my vehicle was Impounded and I was left on the freeway (which is illegal by the way), in Emeryville CA to walk down the onramp and sit in Denny’s restaurant until my family picked me up.
I’m disabled but completely working and functional in society… at current. I’ve completed 3 out of four college experiences; gotten degrees etc. in order to nab my place in our economical society. No complaints there…
At the time I was a student enrolled at expression’s Center for New Media, class one, a college which had just opened up. Previously, I was employed at APPI, Now Armorworks in Chandler AZ as a composite tech making protective products for our highest most reach of government and allies at that time; white house, defense for Israel etc.
In 2000 I was pulled over and my vehicle was impounded due to an erroneous warrant for my arrest; AZ license taken from me as well. It took a letter from Governor Gray Davis’s office to clear this up, from the Santa Rita Sherriff’s Department.
Me personally, I’d like an apology, and compensation for the loss I accrued, covering the education which was time sensitive from the department of rehabilitation (good only until 1999), which I lost because of this mess, and it was a mess; one which took a tremendous amount of time and effort from both myself, as well as my family which had to tote me around until I received my license back in good standing.
Further compensation might include credit trashing which ran my interest on a new vehicle through the roof while I tried to stay off of SSI while furthering my education; struggle to be a tax earning citizen through the educational process which this country is supposed to make easier in some way, shape or form.
This nightmare ended (partially), in January of 2000; education lost at that point obviously. The next step for me involves another leap in effort as well as expense, however I’m waiting for a CHP Official response in order to decide.
Over all, the men and women doing the hard stuff, are really soldiers. It’s dangerous and a daily woe for the families of these individuals. I have no complaints there.
The lip service I received when I was left on the freeway however; Emeryville, well it was unbelievable. I stood without reply to an officer which belittled me, and reckoned what an out of state license seemed to say to him, as If I was doing something terrible.
I had not gotten my CA license at the time because this erroneous warrant had blocked me from doing so… and I was in process of trying to figure out why it existed, where it came from, and what might be done about it. All while attending a college in effort of living free from entitlement’s…
Concord judge Golub couldn’t get the job done when it went to court; a waste of tax payer funding on that guy. All he had to do was BEND HIS NECK, and look down. That’s another long story of course. The Governor did his job for him, as it sit’s on paper. Governor Gray Davis that is–
Whatever mechanism keeps the chaos going, I despise it. However, I’m looking forward to a response and some closure to an expensive, and unproductive life… living through this constant shuffle of (ignor-​ance and problem passing) waste.
The executive pen can ruin lives, and those unduly grated in the process should be compensated for such unwillingness of others to simply peer down at the paperwork placed before them… It’s degusting to those with initiative who’d simply like to tug on the boot straps of life and get working. This has LITERALLY RUINED MY ENTIRE LIFE, as I’ve contacted tons of people… until finding the right one (now), finally who sees the substance in this story.

Probably my favorite law enforcement agency anywhere (US Army CID and US Air Force OSI are the other contenders).
Every CHP officer I’ve encountered has been unfailingly polite, professional, and friendly. I’ve had a few speeding tickets, a stop sign ticket, and such, and even though there’s a financial penalty, I’m happy they’re out there keeping the roads safe.
More importantly, CHP responding to accidents are great. I was the first on the scene at a vehicle rollover on a highway offramp in Oakland, and I blocked the accident with my car, called 911, set up some flares/​gave first aid to the occupants, and when the CHPs showed up, they were very happy things were in hand and did a great job from that point.
This morning, my car had mechanical problems on the Bay Bridge; a CHP showed up and drove behind me so I could get off the bridge to get repaired. The officer was again incredibly professional and safe.

Hiding in the dark, behind bridges, after headlands with radars. Pathetic, get a life.

Friendly, helpful and Sympathetic crew — I came in pretty early in the Morning and I wasn’t expecting the niceties :) Glad they made it easy for me to file the police/​chp report for the accident where I was rear-​ended the week before.

When it comes to law enforcement it seems as though it’s a «love em, or hate em» type of situation. This particular review is about an incident and the CHP office that helped me.
I was hit on my motorcycle while on the freeway. First off I was lucky not to die, but that out of the way, I was also lucky that the reason it happen was because a guy was checking out an accident on the side, so CHP was actually on scene and saw the whole thing. :D
Here’s where it gets funny; the guy that hit me tried to sue me. Yeah! I know right! SO… this guy isn’t paying attention to the road, this guy changes lanes without looking, this guy hits me, and THEN this guy had the audacity to try to sue me!
I had to go to this office to pick up my police report and the service was friendly and quick. The lady that assisted me was very helpful in making sure I was taken care of. Needless to say, if you’re at CHP, it’s typically not a good thing, but since my accident was already crappy, it’s nice that this portion went well.
Happy ending is, thanks to the CHP report the case never went to trial, and the guy looked like a tool.
Have to do my rating system, even for CHP: D
Parking…5/5
Service…5/5
Atmosphere…2/5 (it’s a police station, so you can’t REALLY count this)
Will I go back… Let’s hope I never need to!

Well we needed to find a place to assist us in installing our baby car seat since at anytime the baby could arrive. I was informed the CHP offered it so I decided to call them to schedule an appointment. When we arrived 20 mins early, we were informed it would be a while knowing there wasnt anyone waiting or no line. They had us fill out a sheet prior to having the person show you or install it for you.
15 minutes past our appointment time, the gentleman named Arthur came and introduce himself to us. We informed him it was a brand new seat right outta the box and he kept asking. «You guys have your owner’s manual to your vehicle». My husband replied that when we purchase the car, it didnt come with it. He kept explaining to us how important it was to have yada yada yada. I informed him the car is a 2004 and has the tethering system and in the car seat manual who be fine.
My husband and I kept looking at each other like we couldnt believe this. So after my husband review the car seat manual, he decided it would install it and have Arthur just stand and observe. After my husband figured it out and to Arthur approval, we thanked him to be polite and decided to go on our way wondering why we even bothered coming here. As we said our goodbyes, he tells us to go to the Oakland junk yards to find a owner manual for the car since its important.

It seems that the California Highway Patrol has forgotten that it is supposed to be of service to the people of California. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched as CHP Officers pass motorists in need and how many times I pass construction sites and see CHP Officers (some of which are being paid DOUBLE TIME) asleep in their cars (stealing from taxpayers) with the lights flashing to protect USELESS CAL TRANS WORKERS.
On July 3, 2010, I became the victim of CHP Officer Williams as I approached the Bay Bridge heading to San Francisco. I was in the flyover heading to the Toll Plaza going between 50 and 55 miles per hour as that was what the traffic flow was.
Officer Williams turned his lights on and pulled me over in the parking lot of the Bay Bridge and stated that I was going 75mph. I did not argue, because doing that only causes the officer to be an even bigger ass. I waited for him to come back with the citation of which he wrote for 60 in a 50 — REALLY??? Not 75?
I am really sick of officers and their willingness to lie, because you have no way to disprove them.
It is time they are held more accountable for what they do. Writing bogus citations is stealing money from citizens. There are penalties if I steal from someone, so why are there no penalties for officers that commit the same crimes they are supposed to protect us from?
Now, I have to pay a large fine and go to traffic school, because if you fight and lose you cannot go to traffic school and then face higher insurance rates. What a racquet.
Wish I could get a job where I could be OVERPAYED and COMMIT CRIMES without penalty — sounds like fun!
If there was a JACKASS AWARD, it would be awarded to the CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL!

Let me first preface this by saying that I do understand that there is a lot going on in Oakland and I don’t expect to be number one on the list of CHP’s concerns but I do think that given what happened to my fiancé and me, the situation could have been handled better.
My fiancé and I were looking at wedding locations in the Bay Area and got rear-​ended on the stupid 580 near the Oakland Coliseum while driving to our hotel room after our last site visit.
This accident was obviously not my fiancé’s fault (especially since we somehow managed to not hit the cars in front of us or next to us even when we were propelled forward and fishtailed into the next lane). CHP would not allow us to exchange information with the other driver (which might have been for our safety given the recent shootings).
CHP pretty much ignored us, didn’t tell us what to do or what to expect or how to follow up and get help.
The only thing they did do is called a tow truck for our totaled car and a cab for us to pick us up. I thought maybe they’d take us to the police station to wait or a gas station or a McDonald’s. NO — CHP dropped us off on the side of the freeway totally stranded to wait for 20 minutes for the trashiest cab that I have ever seen that didn’t even take credit card. Welcome to Oakland.

First of all, thank you, CHP! I really appreciate all your hard work. I know at times it must seem pretty thankless, but you perform an often dangerous, very important service that does not go unnoticed.
Thanks for giving me and my mother a much-​needed hands-​on tutorial on properly installing Sir Kicks-A-Lot’s car seat base and car seat. I really appreciate that this service is offered (AAA and some local police departments do too) to help us ensure that we have everything in safety-​lockdown for this kid’s seemingly-​imminent arrival.
In addition to walking us through the process of installing the seat base and car seat, the officer discussed proper infant harness fit, proper stowing of loose items in the car when Sir Kicks-​A-​Lot is chillin’, and made sure we had CHP contact stickers for the seat in case of a vehicular emergency.
It was also helpful to know that in the event that others in the car are «unable to provide information» (a diplomatic way of saying that you’re probably either dead or seriously incapacitated) about the car seat’s occupant in the event of aforementioned emergency, CHP will call Child Protective Services.
I do wish the officer that we worked with had been a little friendlier insead of initially acting like he’d just pulled us both over for doing 90 in a school zone, but I understand that they probably rock-​paper-​scissors for who gets stuck with «car seat installation duty.» Still, a smile and a little personality go a long way when you’re dealing with an anxious first-​time-​parent (and grandparent)-to-be.
Call in advance for car seat tutorial appointments, they run 30 minutes apart, and only on certain days. There will be minimal paperwork for you to fill out when you arrive. Also, have your car seat/​base (s) un-​boxed, un-​wrapped, and ready for installation.
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The –1 star is for the well-​intentioned-​but-​seriously-​flawed «Report Drunk Drivers» campaign. Several times I have tried to «report drunk drivers,» only to be either put on hold or made to spend an absurd amount of time jumping through automated hoops or being transferred from department to department.
The one time I actually stuck it out until I had a person on the other end of the line, it was 25 minutes later and guess what? That guy who was sitting behind the wheel of his truck during 880 rush hour traffic chugging a tall boy of Budweiser was long gone and I was told that unless I knew his location, there was nothing they could do. I left his license plate and truck description with the dispatcher anyway — at least let it be on record that someone reported this human tampon before he decided to play «pedestrian bowling» with a crosswalk loaded with stroller-​pushing-​nuns.
This lack of response when dialing 911 from my cell phone also made me concerned about how things might have played out had I been calling for help while bleeding to death in an overturned car leaking gasoline. I know they can’t possibly have enough dispatchers to meet the demand of phone calls they receive (especially now that everyone has a mobile phone)…but there has to be a better way, and I’m hoping that it’s realized in the near future.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous folks. I’ve had the pleasure of getting pulled over a few times by these handsome beasts and I don’t know what it is that makes them so damned sexy.
Perhaps it’s their obviously good hygiene, well maintained hair, and the fact that their job is to help protect the general public. I don’t know. All I know is that I’ve taken pics with all sorts of law enforcers around the country and the CHP is hands down the best looking of the badge-​weilding folks out there.
Sadly, my law abiding tendencies keep our paths from crossing as often as I would like but I’m glad they’re out there, helping to keep us safe while looking so very hot.

I would say that I agree with the first poster’s opinion to an extent. There are the vast majority of officers who literally put their lives on the line EVERY DAY and do their jobs with good customer service in mind.
It is these guys that I admire and RESPECT 100%.
It is the small percentage that are badge heavy… usually some right out of the acedemy or some older cynical officers who fill these ranks and can drag ANY organization down.
Most of us get it… if I screwed up, write me up… NO ONE knows the CVC like CHP.
Also keep this in mind… there are those of us out there, who in the event your backup may not arrive in time… will stop to get you out of a bind.
Think about this before writing chicken shit tickets that aren’t worth any one’s time. Yes, there is a job to do. Do your job well… but do what you can to keep people on your side.
Be safe.

I’m not writing this to rant unjustly about law enforcement, because I’ve been harassed by LAPD’s finest for years when I use to live in LA, and I never really made much of a stink about it. I still respect law enforcement (the guys who really do their jobs and are not racist punk a-​holes.) But I hate dumb idiots with a badge who can’t do their jobs.
Just moved to W. Oakland, and I left Pican Restaurant wid wifey’s car. All of sudden I get pulled over by not Oakland’s finest, but a fuckin CHP loner who is crusing W.Grand.
He pulls me over, and says I have a headlight out. And then he tells me to step out of the car. C’mon. Let’s be real. Ur gonna go out of ur way to pull me over and have me step out of the car for a headlight!#@$#$
I get a f*ckin sobriety test, for which I passed.(On what basis did u deduce I needed a sobriety test. and please I hope this wasn’t f*ckin racial)
And then he writes me a ticket for a busted headlight. Oh no. Let me share the best part… I go home wid wifey and check out this said busted headlight… THERE IS NO BUSTED HEADLIGHT…
CHP jerkoffs… STAY ON THE HIGHWAY AND STOP HARRASSING PEOPLE… AT LEAST PULL ME OVER FOR SOMETHING THAT I CAN BE PROUD OF.
FOR THE IDIOT CHP OFFICER WHO PULLD ME OVER. UR AN IDIOT!!!

dicks.