I-15 CHP Presence Felt This Week In Southwest Riverside County: Here's Why

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — California Highway Patrol officers were out in force on Interstate 15 on Thursday, using their brand-new low-profile gray SUV to conduct speed and street racing enforcement from the San Diego County Line to Lake Elsinore.

As residents questioned the sighting of so many CHP officers pulling over drivers alongside the freeway, both north and southbound, Patch reached out to CHP Officer Mike Lassig to learn more about the operation.

"Officers indeed had a presence on I-15 north and southbound today, looking for potential street racers, making traffic stops, and conducting traffic enforcement stops Thursday," Lassig told Patch. The CHP Temecula operation stemmed from a grant to conduct operations to keep the freeways safe from unsafe drivers.

On Social Media, commenters shared what seemed like "a massive amount of Highway Patrol activity from Lake Elsinore to Temecula. "New highway patrol SUVs, gray in color and trucks pulling people over. I have not seen this much highway patrol activity on this freeway in a long time."

The gray vehicle in question was CHP Temecula's new Dodge Durango SUV, known as "Specially Marked Patrol Vehicle," which aims to seek out and curtail aggressive driving behaviors on California's highways, according to Lassig.

The Dodge Durango patrol vehicle is equipped with a 5.7 L V8 engine and features unique emergency lighting.

Each Durango is equipped with concealed emergency lights and are built for high-speed pursuits and enhanced road handling, according to statements from the California Highway Patrol.

While the CHP plans to deploy 100 Durango SMPVs statewide in the coming months as part of its mission to enhance safety on California roadways and reduce the Mileage Death Rate (MDR), the CHP, Temecula Area, has one in its fleet.

"CHP Offices throughout the state vary in the number of vehicles in their respective fleets, focusing on speeding, unsafe lane changes, distracted driving, and street racing prevention," Lassig said.

Since August, multiple fatalities have occurred on this stretch of roadway in Riverside County. Though the cause of those collisions has not yet been released, unsafe speed and street racing are often the cause of crashes, according to Lassig.

"People are driving way too fast. We're watching for unsafe drivers. If it's on wheels and being driven in an unsafe manner, the CHP will pull vehicles over."

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