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Last updated on Wednesday, July 3, 2013
(UNDATED) - State Police have some new vehicles on the roads — vehicles you may not notice until it’s too late.
Along with the usual patrol cars, State Police have deployed nine F-150 pickup trucks in highway work zones around the state. The trucks are designed to look like ordinary construction trucks.
INDOT says troopers will be on the lookout for speeders, but also for tailgaters. Deputy commissioner Sam Sarvis says that's actually the most common cause of accidents in work zones.
The trucks are equipped with laser technology to measure the distance between passing vehicles.
Sarvis and ISP insist the goal is to make work zones safer, not to issue tickets.
But State Police Sergeant Rich Myers says while people typically slow down when they see a marked car, the unmarked trucks will let troopers see how people drive when they think no one's watching, and help catch drivers who simply aren't paying attention.
And while the trucks have been on the roads for a while, State Police say they hope calling attention to them before the holiday weekend will get drivers to wonder whether the pickups they see are police vehicles or not, and prompt them to drive more carefully.
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