Highway Patrol stars Broderick Crawford as Dan Mathews, the gruff and dedicated head of a police force in an unidentified Western state. Mathews had "no particular title — just the boss," Crawford said.

The program was "based on authentic stories from the files of highway patrol headquarters throughout the country." Episodes dealt with pursuing and arresting criminals such as smugglers, hijackers, and robbers. Two technical advisors (one a patrolman on active service and one retired) read scripts before scenes were shot and were present during filming "to speak up whenever a technical violation, however slight, occurred."

A signature shot of the series is fedora-wearing Matthews barking rapid-fire dialogues into a radio microphone as he leans against the door of his black and white patrol car. Crawford's acting style in the series was one of fast-talking, hard as nails, dedication to his job.

Ziv Television Programs produced the show. Crawford signed in April 1955.

Highway Patrol premiered October 3, 1955, with "Prison Break", an episode filmed April 11–13, 1955. Initial ratings were strong, the show running second to I Love Lucy.

Ziv Television Programs produced 156 episodes spanning four TV seasons, 1955–59. During the four years of its run, Highway Patrol would feature many actors who would later become successful stars in their own right, among them Stuart Whitman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Conrad, Larry Hagman, Barbara Eden, Paul Burke, Leonard Nimoy, and Ruta Lee.

Highway Patrol is famous for its period cars and its location shooting around the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley, then mostly rural. Other notable Los Angeles area locations include Griffith Park, as well as Bronson Canyon just above Hollywood. The show also filmed at railroad stations in Glendale, California, identified by a large sign; Alhambra, California; Santa Susana, California; and Chatsworth, California.

Officer uniforms are the CHP style of the day. In seasons one to three, the shoulder patch is essentially the CHP patch with "California" and "Eureka" (state motto) removed; the California bear and other California state seal elements are retained. In season four the show adopted a uniform patch that matches its patrol car emblem, and the badge was changed from a seven-point star similar to the actual CHP badge, to a nondescript shield. Highway Patrol Chief Dan Mathews usually wears a suit and fedora.

Art Gilmore's narration gives Highway Patrol a documentary feel, but several details are never mentioned. While described as a state police agency, the actual state is never identified. It is said to be a western state which borders Mexico. In Season 3, Episode 13, the city where the Highway Patrol headquarters is located is identified as "Hempstead."

A key element of the show is two-way radio communication among patrol car…

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