California Highway Patrol - Traditions

Traditions

CHP uniforms are traditionally khaki-colored with campaign hat and blue-and-gold trouser stripe. The dress uniform includes a green jacket and royal blue tie (bow tie for motor officers). Cold weather and utility uniforms are dark blue.

Standard traffic enforcement patrol vehicles are required by state law to have a white door with, in the case of the CHP, a star. Special low-profile vehicles have long been a part of the CHP fleet. There are several all-white patrol vehicles as well as Chevrolet Camaros joined the CHP fleet in 2002. Painted white and sporting a thin, flat LED light bar, rather than the traditional seven-pod Federal Signal Vision unit, these pursuit cars were designated for enforcement of trucking laws, but are also used for general patrol duties.

The California Highway Patrol is one of the few organizations to continue to use the older toll-free "Zenith 1‑2000" number. With the falling cost of telephone area codes 800 and 888. numbers, most organizations have chosen to switch to one of the newer numbers and discontinue use of the Zenith service which requires operator assistance. The CHP's traditions include its own radio codes, which are widely adopted by local agencies. The most important is 11‑99, which signifies that an officer needs emergency assistance or that an officer is down.

In 1981 a charitable foundation called the 11‑99 Foundation was founded to provide benefits and scholarships to officers and their families. The members of the Foundation's Board of Directors have provided over $16 million in assistance to current, retired and those fallen in the Line of Duty CHP employees and their families. The organization's name is taken from the radio code.