Motorway Patrol - 20th Year Special

When I started Greenstone in 1994 the first things we did were one-off documentaries that can often take two years to make. You're never going to have a sustainable company just making one-off documentaries; pretty soon I realised we had to have ongoing series that would roll over. So I was really happy when we got Motorway Patrol series two and series three, but I don't think I ever thought it would go on for two decades. It's just wonderful. A real success story. I still feel very proud that it's trucking on after all these years.

– Greenstone founder John Harris on Motorway Patrol reaching its 20th birthday, The NZ Herald, 12 December 2019

I'm lost, I'm trying to find my way out towards Henderson ... I'm glad I don't live around here!

– An elderly man is oblivious to danger after he stops his car on a busy Auckland motorway

Youse are putrid dogs!

– A angry driver serves up some abuse to police

I had my sunglasses on there and put them on pretty quickly to try and cover up my embarrassment..it wasn't one of my finest days.

– Former highway patrol officer Andy Francis on accidentally locking himself and two others in an interview room

I describe myself as a large, comfortable man who likes to be hugged.

– A laid-back, drunk passenger warms to the camera

Miraculously we've only had two patients with very, very minor injuries. Both are probably heading for a Lotto shop about now.

– Ambulance officer Simon Gibb surveys a crumpled truck that fell off a highway bridge

I don't need to know about your poo poo, thanks....

– A police highway patrol officer brushes off excuses from a speeding driver

Every year on Phoenix's birthday we watch it.

– Mercy Ngan-Woo on the video of her newborn son Phoenix, soon after giving birth to him on Motorway Patrol

There are people out there that think it's a rush to be in pursuits...it's not. We're not out there looking for pursuits, we're not out there trying to drive fast, but you're putting all these people at risk...

– Former highway patrol officer Mike Carter on fleeing drivers who are in it for thrills

So he said he was heading off to Taupo — I don't know how long that would take to get there at the speed he was going...

– Former patrol officer Clay McCarthy on a slow motor scooter holding up traffic on a major highway

It's a bit of fun to watch other people do things wrong. Everybody thinks they're a great driver, don't they? We all think we're fabulous so there's a bit of secret pleasure in watching people not drive so well.

– Greenstone TV producer Philippa Hall on the appeal of watching Motorway Patrol, The NZ Herald, 12 December 2019

Motorway Patrol was such a pioneering show for Aotearoa, both in its production process and in the way it puts 'ordinary New Zealanders' on screen. What we discovered, talking to audiences, is that people tune into shows like Border Patrol and Highway Cops because they want to be entertained, obviously, and they love seeing people getting busted. The weirder the stuff hidden in a suitcase, or the sillier the excuse for speeding, the better.

– Greenstone Chief Executive Rachel Gardner on Motorway Patrol, The NZ Herald, 24 February 2024