Yes, they perform that duty. But they are much more than that.
Used to live near a lieutenant in the Highway Patrol.
They are state cops similar (but not quite as badass) as the Texas Rangers (not the baseball team).
Not a crew to mess with.
Funny story: Got pulled over by a Statie for doing about 7 mph over the speed limit. Tossed out the “these are not the droids you are looking for” line just for levity purposes. He saw that I was on a date and played along. That ended up being a fun night!
I graduated from OSHP basic training Class BASIC 62 in 1976. After I resumed patrol in my city, I had to take OSHP out myself to serve basic warrants. If we had an emergency in the town (Civil disturbance, stand 0ff even a funeral for an officer) we MIGHT ask them to help out. They ONLY did traffic duty. The heavy lifting was done by the SO or local towns who loaned out their officers for assistance while being sworn in as Deputies Sheriffs. OSHP would really like to hear you think they are bad asses, but the Philly Bike Patrol Officers do more police work.