Staff writer

EVANSVILLE-The Indiana State Police at Evansville have added two new Harley-Davidson motorcycles to help power their arsenal as they gear up to increase their focus on traffic enforcement.

Master Trooper Tim Wood, a 26-year ISP veteran and Doug Humphrey, a 20-year trooper, will be patrolling the Evansville District on the motorcycles and will be looking for aggressive and dangerous drivers, said ISP spokesman Todd Ringle.

&#8220I've been riding all my life and when we became eligible for the motorcycle patrol program, I was asked to sign up," Wood said.

Humphrey said he also has ridden motorcycles for most of his life.

Wood said he got his patrol motorcycle in October and its mobility was helpful during rescue and recovery following the tornado which hit Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties in November 2005.

&#8220It was a lot easier to navigate around rubble on the motorcycle as opposed to on a squad car," Wood said.

Humphrey said the motorcycles' quick response time gives ISP troopers a great advantage while on patrol.

The primary function of the Harleys will be traffic enforcement, Wood said. The two troopers will also maintain their squad cars, which they can use in rainy or snowy weather.

&#8220We're just going g to try and fill in as many gaps as we can," Wood said.

ISP Troopers in the Evansville District are responsible for patrolling roads and highways in Gibson, Knox, Pike, Warrick, Vanderburgh and Posey Counties. Wood said there are 27 troopers at the Evansville outpost on U.S. 41.

Ringle said U.S. 41 is one of the stretches of road the troopers patrol where they see the most traffic problems.

&#8220Aggressive driving, speeding and unsafe lane changes are some of the things these guys will be looking for," said Ringle.

In an unexpected twist, the troopers, who have recently been completing training for motorcycle patrol, got the chance to meet Sunday with actor Erik Estrada.

Estrada was in Evansville helping promote a national program that encourages the use of child safety seats and enforcement. The actor is best known for portraying &#8220Ponch," a motorcycle cop on the California Highway Patrol, on the 1970s television program &#8220CHiPs."

&#8220He signed our motorcycles under the radio storage box and he signed both of our ticket-writing pads," Humphrey said.