Police Target Nighttime Drivers During 2007
Memorial Day “Click it or Ticket” Safety Belt
Campaign
IDOT, ISP and local Police plan largest ever after dark enforcement effort as part of bid to reach 90% safety belt compliance statewide
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of
Transportation (IDOT) and Illinois State Police (ISP)
are teaming up with more than 300 local police
agencies to mount the largest ever nighttime safety
belt enforcement effort in Illinois. During the
Memorial Day “Click it or Ticket” mobilization,
motorists can expect more than 3,600 safety belt
enforcement zones statewide, with almost 700
enforcement zones planned for after dark, the time
when surveys show more drivers fail to buckle up.
“Memorial Day marks the beginning of the busy summer
holiday travel season and reminds travelers that the
single most important way to protect yourself and
your family is by buckling up,” said IDOT Acting
Secretary Milton Sees. “Governor Rod Blagojevich
signed the primary safety belt law in 2003 and since
then we have seen a 12 percent increase in belt usage
while at the same time a sharp reduction in
fatalities. But we know that safety belt use drops
off at night, and that’s why it is so important that
police departments across the state are stepping up
their nighttime enforcement activities.”
IDOT, ISP and local police partners will be kicking
off the campaign with news conferences and
enforcement zones at 8 p.m. tonight in Springfield,
Alton, Marion and Quad Cities. (See below for
locations.)
Studies have shown high-risk drivers buckle up less
at night. In 2005, according to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 60 percent of
all motor vehicle occupants killed during the night
were unbelted.
The statewide Memorial Day enforcement effort comes
as IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety (DTS) and its
traffic safety partners across the state are aiming
to reach 90 percent safety belt compliance statewide
and build on the safest year on Illinois roads in
more than 80 years. Traffic fatalities fell below
1,300 for the first time since 1924, with more than
100 fewer people killed on Illinois highways during
2006 than 2005.
Preliminary data shows there were 1,254 traffic
deaths on Illinois roadways in 2006, the lowest total
since 1,065 deaths recorded in 1924. Since 2003,
traffic fatalities have dropped from 1,454 to 1,355
in 2004 and 1,363 in 2005. During that same timeframe
safety belt usage has increased each year from 76
percent usage in 2003 to 88 percent usage in 2006.
“Our officers will be placing special emphasis on
both residential and rural roadways,” ISP Director
Larry Trent said. “Whether running an errand during
the day or driving at night on an expressway or
interstate, motorists are at equal risk of being
involved in a traffic crash. No matter the
destination, always wear your safety belt. We won’t
compromise on our efforts to save lives.”
Illinois is striving to reach 90 percent safety belt
compliance - during a statewide annual survey
conducted in June - through high visibility
enforcement, community education, and paid media.
IDOT is calling on communities to join their Click it
or Ticket campaign to reach 90 percent safety belt
compliance statewide.
Gov. Blagojevich has made improving traffic safety a
priority for his administration and has actively
supported legislation to reduce fatalities on our
state’s highways. Some of the measures put into
effect by Governor Blagojevich include:
- A law that bans teen drivers from carrying more
than one passenger for the first six months after
receiving their license;
- A law that bans cell phone use by drivers under 18;
- Requiring drivers under 18 to make sure that their
teen passengers are buckled properly in the front and
back seats;
- The primary safety belt enforcement law that allows
officers to stop and ticket drivers for not wearing a
safety belt; and
- A law that raised the age at which children must be
in a restraint system or booster seat from 4 to 8.
For more information about traffic safety programs in
Illinois, and to get involved in the effort to reach
90 percent safety belt compliance in Illinois, go to
www.buckleupillinois.org
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