 "The facts are clear -- buckling up saves lives," Blagojevich said.
"As millions of Americans drive to celebrate the holiday with
friends and family, the simplest thing you can do to protect
yourself and your family in a car is wear seat belts."
Police officers will enforce a "zero-tolerance" approach to
drivers who fail to buckle up during the upcoming "Click It or
Ticket" mobilization, as police and sheriff's departments across the
state set up numerous daytime and nighttime safety belt enforcement
zones. The campaign runs in conjunction with the Thanksgiving
Combined Accident Reduction Effort until Dec. 2. The
state police alone will conduct over 2,100 details focusing on
safety belt enforcement, speed reduction, impaired driving and
underage drinking, in an effort to decrease fatalities and personal
injury crashes.
In addition, the state police will continue an initiative
introduced earlier this year called "Stay Alive on the I's." This
enforcement initiative begins at noon Wednesday and continues until
10 p.m. During that time, all interstates will be saturated with
troopers, placed every 10 miles along interstate corridors. The
enforcement initiative concludes on Sunday with a detail from 10
a.m. until 8 p.m.
"Police agencies throughout Illinois are joining together this
Thanksgiving holiday with one simple goal -- saving lives on our
roadways," said Larry Trent, director of the Illinois State Police.
"As we reflect on what we are thankful for this holiday season,
please make sure to wear your safety belt and slow down."
In 2006, 17 fatal crashes resulting in 20 fatalities occurred
during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
"Since Governor Blagojevich signed the primary safety belt
enforcement law in 2003, Illinois has seen a record increase in
safety belt use, and fatalities have dropped by 200 a year, to the
lowest level since 1924. But there are still far too many people who
fail to buckle up, both day and night," said Secretary of
Transportation Milton R. Sees. "Fatalities and injuries increase
during holiday travel -- motorists must remember to buckle up at all
times."
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Blagojevich signed the primary enforcement law in July of 2003.
Prior to that, police could not pull a driver over based solely on a
seat belt violation. Since 2003 there has been a 14 percent increase in safety
belt use. In June 2003, Illinois' safety belt
compliance was 76 percent; it climbed to 83 percent in June of 2004,
86 percent in June of 2005 and 88 percent in June of 2006. In June
2007, the safety belt compliance rate was at an all-time record rate
of 90.1 percent.
In addition to more people wearing their seat belts, fatalities
on Illinois roads have steadily declined since the governor signed
the primary safety belt enforcement law. In 2003 there were 1,454
total fatalities, in 2004 there were 1,355, and in 2005 there were
1,363. There were 109 fewer fatalities in 2006 than in 2005, down to
1,254, the lowest number of fatalities since 1924.
The governor has made improving
traffic safety issues a priority for his administration and has
actively supported legislation to reduce fatalities on our state's
highways. Previous traffic safety measures signed by the governor
include:
-
A law that doubles
the amount of time a teen must have behind the wheel before
receiving a license.
-
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.
-
A law that increased
the age when children must be in booster seats from 4 to 8.
-
Increased penalties
for drivers over the age of 21 who transport a child under the
age of 16 while impaired.
-
Chemical testing
required for those arrested for hit-and-run.
-
Harsher sentencing
for causing a death while driving impaired.
-
Tougher penalties for
driving on a DUI-revoked license.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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