California Deploys Next-Gen Highway Patrol Vehicles to Stop ‘Video Game Style’ Driving

The new Dodge Durangos will allow officers to catch reckless and unsafe drivers more easily, the CHP reported.

The California Highway Patrol plans to deploy 100 Dodge Durangos fitted with stealth features to crack down on "video game-style" dangerous driving. (CHP)CHP

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said on May 8 that it has rolled out its newest weapon to crack down on what the department calls “video-game-style” driving by deploying specially marked patrol vehicles on busy highways.

“We’re deploying 100 of these vehicles statewide to confront a growing threat—aggressive drivers who speed excessively, tailgate, split lanes, and endanger lives,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said Thursday in a social media video.

The CHP will use 2024 Dodge Durangos fitted with the latest lights and colors to blend into traffic.

The first 25 vehicles will be deployed across the state this week. All 100 of the units will be strategically placed along California’s busiest, high-risk roadways by June, the CHP said.

Each Durango features a V8 Hemi engine, a police pursuit package, concealed 360-degree emergency lighting, and a version of the CHP badge on the door.

Uniformed officers will operate them primarily on multi-lane freeways with a clear mission to identify and stop reckless and dangerous drivers, according to Duryee.

“The new vehicles give our officers an important advantage,” Duryee said in a statement on Thursday. “They will allow us to identify and stop drivers who are putting others at risk, while still showing a professional and visible presence once enforcement action is needed.”

The blue-and-red flashing lights are mounted inside the rear window and windshield. The vehicles are also equipped with police lights and flashing lights inside the headlights, the grill, and the running boards.

The new vehicles will be added to the CHP’s existing fleet of high-performance units, which include Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers.

The vehicles allow officers to blend into traffic just enough to observe the most reckless and dangerous behaviors without immediate detection, according to the CHP.

More than 390,000 vehicle crashes are reported each year in California, and nearly 1,000 incidents of reckless driving happen each day, the agency reported.

Last year, CHP officers issued almost 18,000 citations to drivers going over 100 miles per hour, according to CHP.

The California Highway Patrol estimated on May 8, 2025, that the state has about 1,000 reports of reckless driving every day. (CHP)CHP

Speed is a factor in about 30 percent of all crashes and is a major contributor to traffic deaths and injuries. The CHP said it is particularly dangerous because it decreases reaction time, extends stopping distance, and intensifies the severity of crashes.

“Despite advances in vehicle safety, California still sees over 4,000 traffic deaths annually. Most of these are preventable,” Duryee said. “A small percentage of aggressive drivers put everyone at risk.”

Using the latest statistics from 2022, the California Office of Traffic Safety reported that the number of traffic fatalities in the state decreased by about 2 percent from 4,513 in 2021 to 4,428 in 2022.