CHP cracking down on drivers who pass on the shoulder

The California Highway Patrol is increasing enforcement on Highway 1 and Highway 17 after officers reported an increase in drivers illegally passing on the shoulder, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Trista Drake.

“Honestly, it is really dangerous,” said driver Laura Peña. “You are putting people’s lives at risk.”

“On the shoulder, you don’t know if they are going to kick up a rock or dust,” said truck driver Les Dodson. “You don’t know, someone could react wrong.”

According to CHP the reason for uptick is unknown but they are taking it seriously. In fact, in just a span of a few hours on Wednesday, they ticketed nearly 20 drivers.

“As traffic has been backed up, we’ve been seeing more and more people taking the shoulder to bypass all that traffic,” said Drake. Officers aren’t just seeing it while they are on duty either.

“I was driving in my own personal car, I was off-duty, and I counted about 11 cars pass me on the shoulder on my way to work,” said Drake.

It might seem like a harmless crime, but officers say a lot can go wrong when you use the shoulder to pass.

“You don’t know who is on the shoulder up there,” said Drake. “It could be a disabled car, it could be a Caltrans worker or one of us could be pulled over on the side. It’s absolutely dangerous.”

CHP said for at least the next week during commuting hours they are adding extra patrols to both Highway 17 and Highway 1. That comes as good news for drivers like Peña, who just wants people to take their foot off the gas and follow the rules.

“I think with more cars going on the shoulder, we have to slow down and that’s what people don’t understand is that they really need to slow down,” said Peña.

Tickets for passing on the shoulder range in price, but in many cases it’s going cost at least $200.