Governor JB Pritzker has proclaimed Wednesday, July 24th as Illinois Speed Awareness Day. It’s goal is to encourage the public to recognize the importance of speed awareness and driving safely. During Illinois Speed Awareness Day this July 24th, the Galesburg Police Department is taking a proactive approach to promote safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists through both education and enforcement. According to the GPD, in Illinois during 2017, speed was the reason for 42% of all fatal crashes. That’s 462 deaths for the year, or one life every 19 hours. These lives can be easily saved by being aware of our speed and understanding how speeding impacts a crash. In urban areas, the higher the speed at impact, the more severe the injuries sustained. 37.9% of the total injury crashes are speed-related. When speeding there is a greater chance that other road users will misjudge how fast you are traveling. Motorists are encouraged to take a proactive approach to prevent fatalities and reduce injuries on the roadways by being aware of our speed and obeying the speed limit signs all the time. Illinois Speed Awareness Day is an Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and Families Against Chronic Excessive Speed 4 traffic safety initiative.
