I interrogated officer Mario Lopez of the California Highway Patrol mercilessly for hours. With infinite patience, he gave me answers that provided a rare insider's glimpse at the mechanism and the mindset of the CHP.

Here are 13 fascinating facts about the CHP that you may not have known:

1. They use tuning forks to calibrate their radar before they go out on patrol.
   
2. Most speeders are caught because they bring attention to themselves by weaving in and out of lanes.
   
3. The CHP realize their presence on the freeways slows down traffic, so they try not to spend too much time on the road before exiting so that they are not part of the problem.
   
4. Airplanes that track automobiles with radar are used most frequently in the Victorville/Barstow area of Southern California.
   
5. In San Bernardino County, the only CHP vehicles with cameras are the canine units.
   
6. Automobile collisions are the No. 1 cause of death for teenagers. Lopez believes this is due to a lack of parental oversight and parents allowing their inexperienced drivers to get behind the wheel of "too much car." Lopez believes there is no need for a teenager to drive a vehicle with racing and/or high-performance equipment.
   
7. To save money, some people drive illegally by not changing their license plates and updating their registration when they move to California. You can go online to www.chp.ca.gov to report anyone you know who is guilty of this. CHP calls this the CHEATERS program. CHEATERS is an acronym for Californians Help Eliminate All The Evasive Registration Scofflaws.
   
8. Most car thefts in Southern California happen when people leave their keys in the car while it's running.
   
9. The job of a CHP officer is not solely to write citations. Lopez estimated that an average CHP officer will spend a third of his time helping motorists in need, a third giving citations and a third doing paperwork.
   
10. Officers do not have quotas for the number of citations they are supposed to write.
    
11. Most people act surprised when they are pulled over for a citation.
    
12. The most common excuses Lopez has been given by violators when he has pulled them over was that they needed to use the restroom or that they (or a passenger) are ill. When I asked Lopez if these excuses ever work, he replied, "This is Southern California. There's a gas station at nearly every exit. So I don't think so."
    
13. Lopez said what impresses him most - and might result in a warning from him instead of a citation - is simple honesty.
    

Next week I will wrap up my behind-the-scenes look at the California Highway Patrol with some fascinating stories that Lopez shared about his most memorable experiences on the job.

Michelle Groh-Gordy is the owner of InterActive! Traffic School Online at www.trafficinteractive.com , and writes a syndicated weekly column on driving for the publications of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.