Highway Patrol

A mechanic leads his friend astray and drives him straight into a ticket by not checking the terms of a temporary permit. Officers can smell something's up during a random stop.

Speeding and illegal drugs ruin celebrations for one driver. Prescribed drugs prove a problem for another. And there's a dog that loves to ride a hog.

An Illegal U-turn flips a car into a drainage ditch. A speeding driver has a shaggy dog story for officers. Cracks in the windscreen are just the start of one driver's problems.

One driver rides high on a roundabout. Another rides low and scrapes the road. Then there's the guy who just wants to go camping - fast.

There’s a tanker truck on fire on the freeway blocking home-bound traffic. A young driver regrets skidding his way to police attention.

A tradie on his phone crashes into a parked car in front of officers. A 4x4 enthusiast learns why his modifications are not compliant & two drivers take huge risks running traffic lights.

Officers Anthony Deason and Paul Holtzinger pull over a duo who have swapped seats in their vehicle trying to skirt the law. A forthcoming man admits to officers of drinking before driving.

The driver a new ‘old’ car is spoken to from Officers Andy Oakley and Cam Manniche about his lack of plates. His excuses don’t wash with veteran Andy.

A car without a driver sits crashed and damaged on a suburban Melbourne property. Officers Konnie Aravanditidis and Benjamin Tayler track down the driver who has left the scene.

A self confessed marijuana user crashes his motorbike into the back of a car on a busy Melbourne road. A driver's lack of registration uncovers a car load of soft toys.

A driver without an appropriate licence tries to put the blame on his shoes for his excess speed. However, Officers Smith and Williams aren't accepting the driver's poor excuse.

Officers Hodges and Bidderman deal with a driver who tries to pull the wool over their eyes, claiming that a glasses case looks the same as a cellphone.

When a car runs a red and hits another vehicle, the driver takes off from the scene. A woman and her son turn up, claiming she was behind the wheel. But every eyewitness says otherwise.

A man with a warrant for his arrest is on the run from police when he's suddenly spotted by the Highway Patrol. What follows next is a high speed chase, as the cops try and nail him on foot.

A man's desperate dash for the dunny because of diarrhoea nearly ends in disaster when he's caught by officers Andy Oakley and Rob Jones.

A driver who's lost his licence multiple times goes on a mad driving rampage in Western Melbourne. Officer Sue Brendel catches a drugged-up driver for the second time in only a few weeks.

A dramatic old-fashioned chase gets underway in the western suburbs of Melbourne when a woman fails to stop for police.

Officers Rob Jones and Matt Moohan spot a couple of motorbikes going at breakneck speed. Geelong is home to hoons and officer Rick Wilde pulls over a ute that looks to be full of them.

Take a man, a cat and a funny hat and what do you get? Unfortunately, as Leading Senior Constable Pete Henry discovers, anything but a child's bedtime story.

Drunk drivers are all too common but the man Leading Senior Constable Rob Jones pulls over is beyond belief. He's so off his face, he's vomited all over his car and partly down himself!

A learner bursts into tears when he's caught without a fully licensed driver beside him. And if that's not bad enough, he then follows it up with a full-blown, toddler-like tantrum.

When police pull over a car for being too low, they meet a man who reckons he's Australia's biggest bogan. And with a range of bad tattoos and a penchant for cigarettes and cars, he may be right.

Officers Damien O'Brien and Steve Mottram come across a woman who prefers her dog to ride shotgun, rather than her boyfriend. Also, Sergeant Ash Hodges nails a man in a hurry to get to a family lunch.

When a car crashes a stop sign while trying to run from police, it hurtles head-on into the path of a bus. The driver has plenty of reasons to run - but will he avoid a serious smash?

A man who decides the law doesn't apply to him is in for a rude shock after police pull him over. A speeding young woman wants to become a cop but has trouble sticking to the right side of the law.

An extremely drunk driver puts herself and others at risk, and can barely stand after being pulled over.

Senior Constable Ash Bowden gives a speeding daydreamer an earful, officers spot a woman using her phone behind the wheel on a freeway, and police pull over a woman who has her car packed dangerously with furniture.

In some of the most dramatic footage ever shown on this program, a dash cam captures the moment an SUV ploughs head on into a car.

A driver who spots a police car goes on the run - straight into a truck. Also, a man gets angry after being pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt, and two cars collide in Melbourne.

A driver is caught using his phone and launches into a profanity-laden tirade. Also, Sergeant Ash Hodges comes across a man in a beaten up car who's leaving a crash scene.

It's all very suspicious when Sergeant Ash Hodges comes across a man in a beaten up car who's leaving a crash scene. The crash wasn't the man's fault but he still seems unnaturally anxious.

A local know-it-all decides to side with a man driving like a bat out of hell in a residential area where kids are playing in parks and on bikes.

Senior Constable Dave England is first on the scene at a house fire, police pull over a man doing more than twice the speed limit on a suburban street and find a bag of drugs near his vehicle, and a probationary licence holder is found behind the wheel of a vehicle he's not allowed to be driving.

A driver in possession of a crowbar is told his vehicle will be impounded by police.

A cyclist with a strong dislike of the highway patrol refuses to wear his helmet and police find a large amount of cash inside a vehicle.

Police attempt to confirm the identity of a speeding driver when he is unable to produce a licence, a man claims police will owe him three pots of gold if they charge him with using a mobile phone while driving and police find a vehicle with a remote controlled number plate cover.

Police spot two motorcyclists street racing each other. A driver gets belligerent when he discovers he's in trouble. Police learn a whole lot more when they pull over a man with an unrestrained child.

A drunk woman makes the worst decision of her life when she decides to get in her car and fetch takeaways. A motorbike rider risks a dangerous manoeuvre on the road and officers comes across two guys you'd never want to come to your roadside rescue.

A massive roadside stoush unfolds when officers stop a man who hasn't installed his interlock device. A dodgy looking car leads officers on a pursuit through the crowded streets of Yarra.

An officer pulls over an intoxicated driver whose passenger can't get enough of him. Police deal with two agro men who have been caught street racing and get a laugh from a man on a souped up cycle.

Officers spot a car going at warp speed and when the driver shows no sign of stopping, it becomes a full-blown pursuit. Police are baffled when they pull over a driver who insists he is a UFO.

A young driver is close to tears when he’s responsible for getting his mum’s car impounded and nothing Senior Constable Denis Busic says makes it any easier. When Sergeant Andy Oakley pulls alongside a guy on his mobile phone, the offence couldn’t be more obvious. But despite what Andy has seen so clearly, this driver is determined to argue the point.

After a man runs off following a routine intercept, officers join the pursuit. An officer shows up at the scene of a smash, only to find out the driver is someone she knows very well.

Police officers stop a female driver who was caught racing at a dangerously high speed. A truck loses it load on a busy road whilst a furious driver denies using his mobile phone whilst behind the wheel of his car.

Officers are furious when a woman in an unregistered car deliberately disobeys him and drives off. A man gets aggressive after being pulled over for talking on a mobile phone.

A man driving a hoon-mobile is pulled over but what happens next is unexpected.

After a man is suspected of driving under the influence of drugs, the fine and his job are the least of his worries after his wife finds out.

A man is trapped inside his vehicle when it smashes into a pole. Then, two drivers ignore a Constable's attempt to pull them over and a minor collision turns into a major argument.

Senior Constable Dean Pickering has seen a lot of young men die on the roads so he's enraged when he spots three carloads of teenagers racing each other and even worse, half climbing out of their vehicles at speed. Our best police officers rely on their gut instincts and Leading Senior Constable Mustafa Emin does just that when he spies a suspicious looking vehicle.

A traffic stop goes horribly wrong after a furious driver tries to attack the police.

A traffic cop is given a hard time but after Senior Constable Russell Warner stops a driver, he gets a reaction like none other he's seen before. Senior Constable Jerome Murnane stops a car with a couple of stoned occupants inside.

When a sergeant stops a car, his partner notices a weapon in the car. Two senior constables attempt to deal with a speeding car with bald tyres and a toddler sitting in the passenger footwell.

Alcohol and testosterone can be an explosive combination and sure enough, things get well out of hand when a group of men gather to mourn their dead mate. Two young men flaunt their illegally modified muscle car.

A member of the public is attacked by a man with a knife, while returning home from work. The offender leads officers on a frantic foot chase through the streets of Maribyrnong.

The police are desperately trying to apprehend a female drink driver who has crashed a booze bus site. The speeding motorist just won't stop and with pursuing police unable to stop her, they decide to throw down stop sticks which should puncture all the offenders' car tyres. But it's a difficult and dangerous task on a dark, wet busy motorway.

Senior Constable Dean Pickering attempts to help at the scene of a serious crash where two kids have stolen a car and later wrapped the car around a tree. A driver is stopped in Epping for driving an unregistered car.

A protection racket results in murder when a railroad yard worker refuses to continue making payments.

A mentally disturbed man murders women who seek husbands through "Lonely Hearts" clubs.

Mathews investigates a businessman's accidental death. Mathews: Broderick Crawford. Foster: Joe Haworth. Tom: Pierre Watkins.

Mathews tries flushing out two gunmen who are holding a farmer and his wife hostage. Mathews: Broderick Crawford. Ruttman: Tom Holland. Collins: Robert Swan. Martin: Ted Lehman. Jane: Gail Gregg.

Lab worker Harry Wells flees and aggressively avoids people, after being accidentally exposed to dangerous radioactive material.

One member of a three-person holdup team impersonates a Highway Patrol officer in order to deceive robbery victims into thinking that they need not notify the Patrol themselves.

Two convicts steal an airplane to escape from prison.

An ex-con wants to return money stolen in an armed robbery, but his erstwhile partner has other ideas.

Two brothers hijack a new-car carrier, planning to sell the cars to get cash to purchase a farm. When the driver dies from injuries sustained in the hijacking, they make a panic-stricken attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mathews and the Highway Patrol investigate a rash of forged payroll-check cashings affecting merchants in and around Los Angeles.

Mathews tries to prove the guilt of three holdup men---before the statute of limitations runs out. Mathews: Broderick Crawford. Eddie: Bing Russell. Wyatt: Mike Regan.

A woman suspects her husband is trying to kill her. Iris: Virginia Dale. George: Douglas Henderson. Mathews: Broderick Crawford. Ted: Robert Cavendish.

The life of an ex-con is never easy, especially when cellmates show up expecting favors. Al Baldwin is a reformed criminal but suddenly has unexpected guests who hide out at his house while plotting their next crime. When that holdup goes bad, the cons hold Al's wife hostage until Dan and the Highway Patrol come to the rescue.

An Army bazooka is stolen by two men who use it to capture the payroll from an oil drilling company.

Several criminals conspire to stage highway accidents prompting truck drivers to stop and help victims only to be assaulted and have their cargoes stolen. After discovering the hijackers are being tipped off by the owner of a roadside diner favored by truckers, Chief Mathews creates a ruse to force the crime ring into action with the hopes of capturing them.

Dan enlists the help of the leader of a local hot rod car club to assist in finding two robbers who use a souped-up car to get away from the Highway Patrol after each job.

Hank Dooley's daughter has just died from typhoid fever, and Dooley is now searching for his farm hand Len Frazier who is the one who infected her, complete with rifle in hand.

Reporter Sam Dalquist has gone missing. Dan has been looking for him because a two bit hood was found dead after getting a traffic citation driving Dalquist's car. The only lead Mathews has is that Dalquist was working on an exposé about a hood named Matlock and that may be where the writer will be found...dead or alive.

A car that was involved in an accident is stolen and later found again, and just happens to match the description of one used in a bank holdup. Putting two and two together, Dan speculates that this was the getaway car and it's occupants must have escaped on foot, which is near a posh resort.

Steve Talbot is a jewel thief who likes nice automobiles, and the Highway Patrol knows this. So Talbot flees capture after a job in an old junker. This gets him past the roadblocks but he soon is stranded on the side of the road. He hijacks a newly married couple pulling a trailer and Dan passes the trio through, not wanting harm to come to the civilians. But in passing the blockade, they unknowingly pick up a new rider.

Jerry Watts is the son of a millionaire and he's just been kidnapped and taken to an old shack high in the mountains. After a tip from a game warden brings the Highway Patrol, Jerry tries to escape to the officers, only to fall into a canyon severely injuring himself. The only way out is straight up.

After an elderly couple inadvertently help a murderous bank robber slip through a police road block, a restaurant manager spots the fugitive who uses the old folks to keep from getting caught.

Two thieves attempt to steal valuable paintings and demand ransom of $500,000. but they are forced to commit murder when the plan goes awry.

A Highway Patrol officer is murdered while pursuing a car stolen from a lonely bookstore owner.

An alert boy is able to give Dan Mathews information that provides a critical break in the pursuit of a recidivist thief.

Two bikers (Clint Eastwood as 'Joe Keeley', John Compton as 'Nick West') ride stripped-down Harleys into town and stop at a cafe. They are shocked when the cafe owner (Jack Edwards as 'Bernie Sills') confronts them with a shotgun and orders them to leave. As his wife calls the Highway Patrol her husband provokes the bikers, until Nick takes the gun from Sills and punches him. The bikers jump on their bikes and roar out of town. When Sills learns his wife has called the law, he hides the gun and lies to the responding motorcycle cop, telling him the cyclists started the trouble. The cop takes off after the bikers, only to be struck and killed by a trucker who runs a red light. Broderick Crawford’s ‘Chief Dan Mathews’ quickly sorts truth from fiction and arrests the café owner for assaulting the bikers. A nice (albeit unlikely) twist on the ‘bad guy bikers’ trope!

A patient parolee decides the time is finally right to attempt the recovery of $250,000 stolen in an armored car robbery.

Car thieves purchase wrecked vehicles and transfer the VIN plates to stolen ones in order to escape detection.

Dan Mathews must cope with a family's effort to protect an emotionally fragile young woman who fled after striking a pedestrian with her car.

Dan Mathews has reason to suspect the worst when a courier with a criminal record disappears with $31,000 after an automobile accident.

A series of fraudulent insurance claims is discovered after Dan Mathews and his officers learn that the "accidental" death of a migrant worker was actually a homicide.

Dan Mathews and his officers assist a county sheriff in closing down a club that offers illicit gambling.

An uninvolved man happens to be in the company of two brothers who hold up a diner and kill its owner. Fearing the police and terrified of the vengeance he may expect from the criminals, he flees. As Dan searches for him, one man winds up dead, two critically wounded, and the man who a few short hours ago was an average law-abiding citizen is harried to the point where he is willing to shoot it cut with the police - until Dan manages to show the error of his ways.

Systematic traffic checks and increased patrols begin on a high accident freeway. Hoping to determine causes and cures, Dan questions drivers who get too many citations there. One man refuses to accept Dan's safety philosophy. When his license is suspended, his wife drives him to an important business meeting. En route, her eyeglasses break and he takes over at the wheel. Encountering a traffic check, he panics and flees, resulting in a severe accident in which his wife is critically injured. He learns the hard way - and too late - what Dan had earlier tried to impress upon him.

An expensive, giant computer, one of the twentieth century wonders, which does a tremendous amount of administrative work in just hours, is ingeniously 'kidnapped' from an electronics company by two men. The firm's owner is told to get $100,000 from his bank at two o'clock the next day and wait for instructions. A helicopter chase helps Dan stop the men from collecting the ransom or getting away.

A hardened criminal, whose personality belies his viciousness, escapes from prison, killing a guard. Dan Mathews swings into action, and as the man commits one ruthless act after another to break through the trap closing in on him, it becomes apparent that there's almost a personal conflict between the two men - that ends only when they meet face to face in the final scene.

We talk to our most famous faces about what goes on behind the scenes of our most colourful cases. From the outrageous to the downright dumb, officers tell all.

With over a decade on our screens, HIGHWAY PATROL has had more than its share of badly behaved drivers. From the drunk and abusive to the romantic and frantic, the hardworking men and women of Victoria’s Highway Patrol have seen them all.