Springfield, IL – As the holiday season begins,
more people will travel to visit family and friends. While this
is a time for celebrating, it is also a time when injuries and
fatalities most often occur on Illinois roadways. That’s why
police will be out looking for violators who choose to not
buckle up.
Beginning today, the Illinois Department of
Transportation, the Illinois State Police and law enforcement
agencies throughout the state are kicking off a six-week
combined effort to increase safety belt usage. Plans will be
unveiled at news conferences throughout the state beginning at
10:00 am.
“The Click It or Ticket campaign relies on high
visibility safety belt enforcement periods, coupled with
aggressive communication to educate people about the dangers of
not buckling up,” said Timothy W. Martin, Secretary of the
Illinois Department of Transportation. “For many non-safety belt
users, and especially young people, the threat of a ticket has
proven to be a greater incentive to buckle up than the threat of
injury or death.”
Illinois’ current safety belt usage rate, based on
observational surveys conducted in June of this year, increased
by 6.8 percent since the passage of the primary safety belt law
which passed in June of last year; up from 76.2 percent to 83
percent.
“We continue to prove that seatbelts save lives,
however 17 percent of motorists still aren’t getting the
message,” said Timothy W. Martin, Secretary of the Illinois
Department of Transportation. “Since the passage of the primary
safety belt law, 90 lives have been saved and nearly 2,800
injuries have been prevented in the state of Illinois because
more people chose to obey the law and buckle up.”
While the Click it or Ticket November enforcement
will be conducted on all Illinois roadways, there will be
special emphasis placed on residential roadways and on young
drivers. Motorists are at equal risk of death or injury while
running an errand that is close to home as they are when
traveling on an interstate highway.
"It's been proven that safety belts save lives and
the law enforcement community wants to ensure that when you get
behind the wheel your first step is to buckle up and encourage
your passengers to do the same. It sounds simple, but there are
those who choose not to buckle up. Wearing a seat belt is the
law in Illinois and the Illinois State Police will be out in
force to make sure it is enforced. So when you head out for the
holidays, make your first step the right step and buckle up",
said State Police Director Larry Trent.
In addition to safety belt enforcement zones,
where officers who observe unbuckled motorists will wave them
over and issue citations, there will be saturation patrols,
roadside safety checks, and other stepped up enforcement
efforts. The Click It or Ticket enforcement period begins
November 22nd and runs through January 1st.
Officers will also be watching for impaired
drivers during this mobilization effort.
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