VALPARAISO | Flashing red and blue lights lit up U.S. 30 and Ind. 49 on Friday morning as more than a dozen officers swarmed the highways to send a message to motorists who speed, run red lights and fail to use truck lanes.

The crackdown -- which came after truck drivers caused fatal accidents recently on both highways -- drew 14 Indiana State Police troopers and Valparaiso police officers, some driving unmarked Ford Mustangs. Together, they issued 79 tickets and warnings in three hours.

Police said they caught people going as fast as 80 mph and running the same red lights where fatal crashes have occurred. One truck was towed because the driver had a revoked license.

"I think it went well. We're appreciative of the state police coming out and working with us," Valparaiso police Sgt. Michael Grennes said of the blitz.

"All in all, it showed a presence," he said.

Valparaiso police, who used an Indiana aggressive driving grant to pay for the extra officers working the crackdown, plan to do large enforcement blitzes every month and increase their daily presence.

"One shot will not be effective. This is something we're going to have to continue to do," said Valparaiso police Sgt. Philip Spence. "The goal is to get people slowing down, getting them stopped for the stoplights in time.

"Two fatalities is too many."

Spence stopped several motorists during Friday's blitz, including trucker Angel L. Hernandez Jr., 33, of Montgomery, Ill., for failing to use the truck lane on U.S. 30, police said. They also said they stopped trucker Gerardo Gonzalez, 32, of Chicago, for running a red light on Ind. 49.

Gonzalez, who was driving through Valparaiso recently and saw the aftermath of a fatal accident, said being caught in Friday's police blitz will make him a more cautious driver in the future.

Hernandez agreed.

"I think the police are doing a good job," he said. "If we're not being safe, we can have an accident."