Troopers Dressing Up As Construction Workers to Catch Speeders

State Troopers have now decided to dress up as construction workers and place themselves in busy work zones to watch out for speeders. This happened in Illinois, as Illinois State Troopers set up undercover patrols to raise awareness for Work-Zone Safety Week last month. The campaign, Operation Hard Hat, had troopers watching for speeders, distracted drivers and other violators in construction zones.

WQAD in Illinois, spoke with Illinois State Trooper Jason Wilson, as to why this campaign was so important.

"It's not about writing tickets," Illinois State Trooper Jason Wilson said. "It's not about pulling people over, it's about keeping people safe."

These troopers were wearing a hard hat, a vest with casual clothing under, and were sitting in a construction truck. According to, Rare, state troopers conducted 10 traffic stops, gave out 10 speeding tickets, 1 seat belt violation, and 2 equipment warnings, all within a matter of two hours.

The Illinois State Police said that they plan to conduct more of these patrols in the future. I, for one, think this is a good idea. Not just in Illinois, but in Indiana too. I can't tell you how many times I have seen someone not merge over for road work and/or first responders on the roadways. Not only that, but there have been countless times where I have seen drivers completely ignore the construction speed limit and fly through the area. There's a reason why the speed limit is lower in construction zones: For the safety of those trying to fix the roads to make our drives much better.

As a fellow driver, do you think that Indiana State Police should give this a try to increase safety throughout construction zones?