If you are hitting the road this Fourth of July weekend, expect a lot more badges in your rearview mirror. The California Highway Patrol is launching a statewide holiday crackdown, rolling 100 low-profile patrol vehicles into traffic to catch speeders and impaired drivers.
The enforcement run is scheduled from 6 p.m. Thursday, July 2, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 5, with officers zeroing in on excessive speed and drunk or drug-impaired driving.
What Officers Will Be Doing
As reported by the Santa Monica Mirror, CHP units will put a heightened focus on speeding violations and impaired driving during the Independence Day period. Last year, during the same holiday operation, officers across California responded to more than 850 speed-related crashes that left nearly 400 people hurt and at least seven people dead, and they made 1,311 arrests for driving under the influence. The extra patrols will be concentrated on major freeways and other high-traffic holiday routes.
'Ghost' Cruisers And The FAST Pilot
The operation leans heavily on 100 low-profile, specially marked patrol vehicles that blend into the flow of traffic. A California Department of Motor Vehicles news release says these SMPVs, deployed earlier this year, have already helped CHP issue tens of thousands of speed citations.
The same release notes that the Forwarded Actions for Speeding Tickets, or FAST, pilot launched on December 22, 2025. Under FAST, citations for drivers clocked at more than 100 mph are automatically forwarded to the DMV Driver Safety Branch for an administrative review. That can trigger license suspensions or re-examinations that are handled separately from any criminal court case.
Early FAST Results
According to local reporting that summarizes DMV figures, CHP officers submitted more than 3,200 FAST referrals between January and May 2026, and the DMV initiated over 3,000 license suspensions and re-examinations based on those referrals. After review, about 94.3 percent of those early administrative actions were upheld. Officials say those numbers show the program is pulling high-risk drivers off the road, and they point to FAST as a key reason speed enforcement is front and center this Independence Day weekend. The idea is that quick administrative consequences will help deter extreme speeding.
How Drivers Can Avoid Trouble
The CHP is urging drivers to designate a sober driver, use rideshare services and always buckle up, guidance echoed by local outlets covering the crackdown. As MyNewsLA reported, officers will run saturation patrols and checkpoints on freeways and in unincorporated areas to catch impaired and reckless drivers. If you spot a vehicle that appears dangerous, the agency asks you to call 911 with a description of the car and its direction of travel.
Legal Note
The DMV framed FAST in its December announcement as an early-intervention safety tool, but the administrative track raises the stakes for anyone cited at triple digits. License actions can move ahead even while a court case is still pending. Coverage by FOX 11 highlighted the program’s broad reach and the quick pace of administrative reviews, a combination that has won praise for getting risky drivers off the road and has also prompted questions about notice and due process. Motorists cited for driving over 100 mph should be prepared to deal with both court and DMV processes in some cases and to move fast on any mailed notices.
Whether you stay close to home or head for the coast or the mountains, expect extra CHP eyes on the road and faster administrative fallout for extreme speeding this July 4 weekend. Slow down, buckle up and line up a sober ride home, because the patrols are out in force and the consequences are catching up just as quickly.
