CHP Marin Office Launches Program to Speed Clearing of 101

Don’t be surprised if you see more California Highway Patrol officers cruising Highway 101 during commute hours. Yes, they’ll keep an eye out for speeders, HOV lane violators and other lawbreakers, but you can add road clearing to their tasks.

The commander of the CHP Marin Area office in Corte Madera said in a release that a new program makes a “proactive response to alleviate the noticeable increase in congestion” during weekday commute hours and will try to clear incidents from the roadway before they make a huge impact on traffic. The CHP is calling it the CLEAR program, and it starts today, Nov. 14.

Officers on CLEAR duty will function differently from regular patrol units and will not have investigative responsibilities. A CLEAR officer will respond to an incident, clear the freeway of anything blocking traffic and then turn over investigations to a regular patrol unit.  The method will allow a CLEAR unit to respond to the next incident or return to patrol in search of more traffic-impacting incidents.

“It is my hope that with the CLEAR program in place, Marin commuters not only feel that the CHP is taking a proactive approach to the commute congestion but actually see it making a difference in the time it takes them to reach their destinations,” said CHP Captain Amy Mangan, commander of the CHP Marin Area office. “We must be proactive in finding solutions to the issues at hand.”

The CHP reminds motorists of a responsibility they have as well: If you’re involved in a non-injury collision, get the involved vehicles off the freeway at the nearest exit and wait for emergency personnel there.