I think it’s a California thing.
I’ve never heard of them either, good to know.
I work with police officers every day and I’ve never heard of this.
One time. CHP stated swerving, trying to stop all lanes. I was lane-splitting on an RZ350 at the time and said, “F this!”. I hammered it when he was on the far side and took it up to about a ton and enjoyed the free open space. This was about 1989, on the 101 in Hollywoood southbound, just before the transistion to the 110 South.
I’m surprised I remember that, actually.
I’m pretty sure this post is in English, but I’m understanding about half of it. 
I’ve never seen or heard of a traffic break, but it does sound like a useful police manouver. They probably don’t do them in Calgary because they don’t actually enforce any traffic laws here. :rolleyes:
Yep, on the Driscoll Bridge at about 2 am. We had no idea what the hell was going on (it’s about 8 lanes of traffic) and sure as hell nobody was going to pass that sucker. Got past him at the toll booths, and never saw any sign of a wreck, construction, or obstruction for the next 30 miles.
Gato said: “I was riding my motorcycle atop the lane lines when a CHP officer attempted to slow traffic for safety, as there was an accident ahead. I was a young punk, so I ignored the officer and accelerated, endangering all on the road with my reckless disregard for safety in the face of open freeway in LA.” 
I’ve never heard or seen of any such thing, and any officer who tried it in Quebec would be laughed at – and probably accidentally rammed by another car.
If they want to stop multiple lanes of traffic here, they bring out a couple of pickup trucks and put down pilons.
Once or twice. In Cali. Immediate reaction: What the hell? Quickly followed by: Ah, he wants us to stop- probably for good reason.
Surely we’ve got at least one non-Californian highway patrol officer on the boards. Maybe?
Here’s what Wikipedia says:
Nothing about it being a specifically California thing, although it’s interesting that their one example of a “citizen’s traffic break” also happened in CA.
Here in the big city, it’s bumper-to-bumper traffic in all lanes going 70 mph. You’re gonna park a couple pickup trucks in the middle of the freeway and put down cones without slowing down traffic first? I’d like to see that.
Just the other day… Saturday, I think. There were two patrol cars with big LED direction signal signs like this on their rooftops.
Normally they use these to close on single lane if there is a break down and the lights are directional and will tell you to merge left, right, or (if the car is in the center lane) either. In this case, the two patrol cars were positioned so that their cars were actually in to different lanes (of a four lane highway), and the lights were blinking in a really weird way that did not suggest a direction to go around.
We turned on the traffic report and they said the police were diverting traffice because someone was riding a bicycle on the expressway. :eek:
We see this on 99 all the time. When it is very foggy, like visibility <100’ CHp will go out and start straddling lanes and pacing the freeways down to like 10-15 mph.
If Barbarian can arrange such a demo, you bring the lawn chairs, and I’ll bring the brews. Should be fun to watch.
Ah. Thank you.
I did sort of a citizen’s traffic break once - I was driving on a fairly busy but not too crazy road, and there was a family of ducklings trundling along in the right lane. I drove behind them with my blinkers on until another car stopped in front of us and boxed them in which scared them back out of the road (I couldn’t stop and chase them off, because they’d just run up the road every time I tried it).
Same here!
In Washington, DC the Rock Creek Parkway is one way in one direction during morning rush hour; one way in the other direction during evening rush hour and both ways the rest of the time. During the transitions the police do this and there is always some tourist trying to pass them.
I’ve never been in one quite as wiki described – but in 2003 or 2004 I was driving back to Long Island from Baltimore when I came upon an accident. I was the first car NOT allowed to pass through in the left hand lane. I was sitting in my little shitty tinny 1988 Toyota Tercel while all the Bio or Chem Hazard clean-up men were walking about in their Haz-Mat suits not 15 feet from my car. If I had had any sense I would have requested one for myself as well.
The last one I saw was for this; a car was broken down in the carpool lane, and one officer ran a traffic break until the traffic slowed enough for the other officer to escort the broken down vehicle off the freeway. I was taking a friend to the airport, and she’d never seen one before and started freaking out. “I’m going to miss my plane!” But we were only slowed down for a few minutes before the cop was done with what he needed to do.
I’d be shocked if it were a California thing only, just because once it starts happening, it’s so obvious what’s going on and it’s so effective. Incidentally, I’d also heard it called a “round robin,” although not for many years (since driver’s ed, I think).