Via social media, mass media and by issuing tickets carrying a minimum $300 fine, Indiana State Police are shifting into overdrive in efforts to make Interstate 70 construction zones safer.
Troopers from the Putnamville district already had extra patrols on the highway’s work zones, but in recent days they have stepped things up.
“You’re going to see an increased presence in the coming weeks – more so than we’ve had in the past,” said Sgt. Joe Watts, the district’s public information officer. “I want to make sure people know we’ve been out there and we are going to be there.”
The increased focus on the highway comes after three people, including two children, were killed last week in two unrelated crashes 10 miles apart in Clay County.
A total of seven people have died so far this year in an approximate 20-mile stretch in the Terre Haute and Brazil areas.
“We’re doing our very best – as we’ve always told the public we’re going to – to prevent another tragedy,” Watts said.
Last week’s fatal crashes occurred in or near construction zones where traffic was slowed or stopped. While an earlier multiple-fatality crash west of Terre Haute was not in a work zone, it involved traffic that had slowed due to a roadside emergency.
The latest fatal crash, in which a truck driver died after his rig slammed into traffic that had slowed for another collision, remains under investigation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Department. The driver’s name has not been released.
All of the fatal crashes have involved semi trucks but Watts stressed troopers are focusing on speeding and other forms of “dangerous and aggressive driving behaviors” by those in control of all vehicles regardless of size.
“(Trucks) are not being targeted, but they are the biggest vehicles on the road; they weigh more and can cause much more devastation,” he said.
Troopers are using Twitter to post photos of some of their traffic stops @ISPPutnamville.
Lt. Dan Jones, district commander, cited a motorist for going 71 miles per hour in a 55 mph work zone Monday at the 28 mile marker and Sgt. Mike Wood clocked a vehicle at 78 mph in a work zone near the eight mile marker, just east of U.S. 41.
Terre Haute Police Chief John Plasse announced last week his department will use leftover grant funds to patrol the interstate along a 15-mile stretch from the Illinois state line to Clay County. This will begin Aug. 1 and end Aug. 10.
Watts said State Police “welcome any help out there,” but added, “It’s not going to change anything we’ve done or are doing. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea, that State Police can’t handle the interstate. We’ve handled the interstate for the 32 years I’ve been here and we’re going to continue to handle it.”