State Troopers get new rides

The next time those red and blue flashing lights show up in the rearview mirror, there might be a “pony” tailing close behind. The Indiana State Police have recently acquired 18 new Ford Mustang GTs to patrol the roads. \nThe troopers of the Mustang Patrol will focus on rural, two-lane roads. According to a press release, 64 percent of Indiana’s 947 fatalities occurred on rural two-lane roads in 2004.\nThe unit was created in order to help police high-volume crash areas as well as reduce criminal activity, including driving under the influence and possessing illegal substances.\n“In an unmarked vehicle you can maneuver easier in high-traffic areas,” said Sgt. Curt Durnil of the ISP. “It’s a simple fact that you blend in better.”\nAnother focus of the Mustang Patrol will be motorcycle drivers who violate traffic laws. An ISP press release cited that motorcycle collisions in Indiana are “on the rise” with a new high of 124 fatalities in 2007.\nAccording to Durnil, funding for the Mustangs came from the same ISP transportation budget used when purchasing any police vehicle.\n“Every trooper is issued a car, whether it be a Mustang or a Crown Vic,” Durnil said.\nDrivers assigned a Mustang are veteran troopers with safe driving records and experience with traffic-violation enforcement. The troopers also go through training that focuses on high-performance vehicle operation.\n“The patrol unit drivers have shown exemplary work effort and control over their vehicles,” Durnil said.\nISP trooper Eric Nash was awarded the candy-apple red Mustang for the Bloomington district. Durnil said Nash will use the vehicle in areas where most of the crashes and criminal activity occur.\nWhile the cars have been dubbed the ISP’s “Mustang Patrol Unit,” each of the 18 Mustangs will be operated separately by district. “Rather than working in one unit as has been done in the past, each of the Mustangs is under the command of its own district,” Durnil said.\nDurnil said the ISP underwent a similar operation in 1988 when a squad of 24 Mustangs patrolled high-traffic areas.\n“The squad would go to areas where high volumes of traffic were expected, usually at events like the Indy 500 or a Notre Dame football game,” said Durnil.\nIn 1991, the department switched to Chevrolet Camaros. When Chevrolet discontinued the Camaro line, the ISP began using the Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars commonly seen on state roads. Motorcycles were introduced in 2004, which Durnil said will still be used. Now police vehicles have come full cycle back to Mustangs.\nThe Mustangs come in different colors, and no modifications have been made to the body or engine. The only revealing equipment of the cars are the red and blue flashing lights inside, and the antennas usually standard of unmarked police cars are missing.\nThe Mustang Patrol enforcement program – much like the ongoing “Click It or Ticket” campaign – pays officers who will work extra hours and is funded by a federal grant through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.