Memorial Day 'Click it or Ticket' to be largest safety belt
enforcement in Illinois history
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IDOT, ISP teaming up with more than
350 local police agencies, Missouri and Iowa to make the roads safer
[MAY 25, 2006]
SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department of
Transportation and Illinois State Police are teaming up with more
than 350 local police agencies to set up the largest safety belt
enforcement effort ever conducted in Illinois. During the Memorial
Day "Click it or Ticket" mobilization, motorists can expect more
than 5,000 safety belt enforcement zones throughout the state and
1,400 saturation patrols. Approximately 200 local agencies will be
participating in the Memorial Day "Click it or Ticket" mobilization
for the first time, and Illinois will be running special patrols in
coordination with Iowa and Missouri to focus on traffic safety
issues during the mobilization.
"Memorial Day marks the beginning of the busy summer holiday travel
season, and the single most important way to protect yourself and
your family in the car is by buckling up," said Department of
Transportation Secretary Timothy W. Martin. "Governor Blagojevich
signed the primary safety belt law in 2003, and we have seen a 10
percent increase in belt usage while at the same time a reduction in
fatalities. We know safety belts save lives and will continue to
step up our efforts on enforcement."
The Illinois Department of Transportation was recently singled
out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for having
the most safety belt enforcement zones in the Midwest during 2005.
In 2005, the department teamed up with state and local police on
4,590 safety belt zones, and during the May enforcement alone there
will be at least 5,200.
This year during the May mobilization, for the second year in a
row, a special emphasis is being placed on safety belt enforcement
in rural areas. While rural traffic deaths account for approximately
60 percent of all traffic fatalities, only one-fifth of Americans
live in rural communities. Approximately 100 agencies have signed on
for the "Click it or Ticket" rural initiative, 65 for the first
time. There will be at least 2,000 safety belt zones and
approximately 450 saturation patrols in rural areas during this
special enforcement.
"Our officers will be placing special emphasis on both
residential and rural roadways," said Illinois State Police Director
Larry Trent. "Motorists are at equal risk of being involved in a
traffic crash whether running an errand close to home or driving on
an expressway or interstate. No matter the destination, always using
your safety belt saves lives. We won't compromise on this effort."
IDOT and ISP are placing a greater emphasis this year on
partnerships for traffic safety. During the May mobilization the
Illinois agencies will be coordinating with their Missouri and Iowa
counterparts to increase traffic safety in the Metro East and Quad
Cities areas. A total of 255 Iowa agencies will participate in a
variety of events, including traffic safety checkpoints, enforcement
zones, saturation patrols and a corridor project across the northern
three tiers of Iowa counties. In Missouri, 150 agencies will conduct
460 targeted enforcement zones.
"We are proud to participate in these statewide enforcement
programs," said Col. Roger Stottlemyre, superintendent of the
Missouri State Highway Patrol. "Even as we enforce traffic laws, our
officers are also trying to educate the public about the importance
of safe and responsible driving. This part of our job is very
important, as we don't want to lose a single member of our state and
our communities in a traffic crash."
IDOT and ISP also singled out the efforts of local students who
are working to improve traffic safety in their central Illinois
community. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School was singled out for
Project Ignition. This group effort was inspired by the death of a
classmate, one of twin brothers who was killed in a tragic accident;
the second twin survived because he was protected by a seatbelt.
Students at the high school produced DVDs, original soundtracks and
PowerPoint presentations that were played throughout the community.
Group members received $10,000 from State Farm Insurance to continue
their traffic safety efforts and were singled out as national
finalists in Project Ignition.
"Our students are pleased to be partnering with IDOT, the state
police and State Farm to get the word out during prom season about
the need to buckle up and drive sober," said Judy Weber-Jones,
driver's education instructor at the high school. "Working together
we can eliminate the number one killer of teens: motor vehicle
crashes."
"State Farm is committed to making our highways and roads safer.
It is what being a good neighbor is all about," said John Werner,
director of strategic resource technology for State Farm. "We are
proud of the young people at Gibson City and the other Project
Ignition participants nationally who have made a difference in their
peers' lives."
Blagojevich has made improving traffic safety a priority for his
administration and has actively supported legislation to reduce
fatalities on the state's highways. Some of the measures put into
effect by 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 seat belt
enforcement law that allows officers to stop and ticket drivers
for not wearing a seat belt.
A law that raised the
age at which children must be in a restraint system or booster
seat from 4 to 8.
Officials at the Illinois Department of Transportation credit
these measures with helping reduce the number of fatalities from
1,454 in 2003 to 1,355 in 2004 and 2005. In addition, an annual
survey found that seat belt usage increased by 10 percent, from 76
percent in 2003 to 86 percent in 2005.
