The Evanston Police Department will join the Illinois Department of Transportation
(IDOT), the Illinois State Police and hundreds of local law enforcement
agencies across the state for the 2016 Click It or Ticket campaign that runs
from May 16-30. Officers will be out in force day and night during this time frame,
cracking down on seat belt law violators and impaired drivers. Motorists caught
driving unbuckled will be ticketed and those caught driving impaired by drugs
or alcohol will be arrested.
Illinois seat belt law requires all
front and back seat occupants to buckle up. During statewide observational
surveys conducted by IDOT in 2015, the overall usage rate for rear seat
occupants was 84.9 percent, versus 95.2 percent for drivers and front seat
passengers. Of the 274 fatalities in 2015 that occurred during night time hours,
42 percent were unbuckled.
“Unbuckled
motorists continue to lose their lives on Illinois roadways,” said Sergeant Tracy Williams, supervisor of the Evanston Police Department Traffic Bureau. “We want
motorists and passengers to buckle up this Memorial Day weekend and throughout
the summer – it could be the difference between life and death.”
Provisional numbers show that 13
fatalities occurred on Illinois roadways during the 2015 Memorial Day weekend;
three of those fatalities were alcohol-related. Wearing a seat belt is your
best defense against an impaired driver. It is also important to remember that officers
enforce seat belt laws year-round, both day and night. Be sure to buckle up and
never drive impaired - you may save your life, or the life of a loved one.
“Law
enforcement will have zero tolerance for seat belt violators,” said Williams. “If you or your
passengers are caught unbuckled or drive impaired by drugs or alcohol, you will
be ticketed or arrested – it’s that simple.”
Remember: In Illinois, children are required
to be in a car seat or booster seat until at least age 8 and all children
younger than 13 should ride in the back seat.
Visit buckleupillinois for more information about the Click It or Ticket and the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaigns.
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