Historically, the Indiana State Police has been a premier law enforcement agency committed to the effort of reducing crashes and saving lives on Indiana roadways. In fact, a portion of the department’s Mission Statement reads, “We will ensure public safety on our roadways with vigorous and directed traffic enforcement”.

In striving to achieve this goal, the Indiana State Police utilizes many different patrol vehicles, more specifically one that is high performance, stealthy, and attractive to the general public, the Ford Mustang. The ISP Ford Mustangs currently in use have no police markings and are of various colors. They are specifically designed for targeting those violations which are a proven danger to motorists.

In the past two days, one trooper assigned to this Ford Mustang program, has witnessed the dangerous and aggressive driving some motorists display on our roadways. On the afternoon of June 13, Master Trooper Don Farris assigned to the Putnamville District, first clocked a motorcyclist on Interstate 70 near the Indianapolis International Airport at 101 miles-per-hour in a 55 mph zone and later that afternoon, Farris spotted another motorcyclist at 104 mph in a 70 mph zone on I-70 near the 54 mile marker in Morgan County. In the early afternoon of June 14, Farris was patrolling on State Road 63 in Vermillion County and was passed on the right by a tractor-trailer combination traveling 78 mph in a 60 mph zone and later that same afternoon, Farris was working on Interstate 74 near US 231 in Montgomery County and was again passed on the right by a motorcyclist initially traveling 101 mph and ultimately 123 mph before being stopped. In all instances, Master Trooper Farris issued the appropriate traffic enforcement action against these dangerous and aggressive drivers.

While these are only a few examples of the driving behaviors troopers face each and every day, motorists are encouraged to obey all traffic laws and “partner” with the ISP to reduce crashes and save lives. Working together, we can make a difference and prevent families from facing the ultimate tragedy associated with vehicle crashes.