The term highway patrol can refer either to a police agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing traffic safety compliance on a polity's roads and highways, such as the California Highway Patrol, or to a detail within an existing local or regional police that primarily concerns its activity with such duties, such as the HWP units of Australian state police forces, or the NYPD Highway Patrol.
Duties of the highway patrol include the following:
- Traffic Enforcement: enforcing laws and regulations intended to improve traffic safety, such as speed limits
- Emergency Response: securing the scene of a traffic accident by using cones and flares as well as providing first aid to the injured
- Accident Investigation: gathering evidence to determine the cause of a roadway accident
- Commercial Vehicle Enforcement: enforcing highway laws related to commercial transport, including weight limits and hazardous materials rules
- General Law Enforcement: assisting local police, especially in rural areas
- Maintenance: observing and reporting damage to the roadways, and conducting hasty road surveys after disasters or the passage of inclement weather
- Education: providing public information, handouts and displays to encourage safe driving and usage of the roads
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