Motorists can expect to see more police and law enforcement out on the roads through the Holiday season.
State Police and nearly 200 local law enforcement agencies are uniting for the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click it or Ticket” campaigns.
One of the main focuses will be on drunk driving says Illinois Department of Transportation Spokesperson Jessie Decker. “We find that people are out enjoying the holidays – celebrating more. Which sometimes involves enjoying adult beverages,” Decker says. “So we just want to make sure that before people do that they’re designating a driver or considering other ways to getting home safely, including calling a cab, calling a friend, or even using a ride-share service.”
Decker adds that law enforcement will be on the lookout for drunk drivers among other things. “We’ll be seeing some heightened enforcement just to make sure that people get to their holiday destinations safely. That will include a focus on making sure people driving sober, and not distracted, and also wearing their seatbelts.
There were nearly 30,000 DUI arrests made in Illinois in 2016 according to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.
According to a release by the Illinois Secretary of State Jessie White’s office: in 2017, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day four of the 11 driving fatalities were alcohol-related.
White said, “Drunk and impaired driving causes death and injury on our roadways every year during the holidays…let’s keep the roads safe.”
66% of fatalities on the road during the holidays were alcohol-related last year. 86% of all drivers arrested for DUI are first-time offenders.
