Batavia Police Up Enforcement Wednesday for Illinois Speed Awareness

BATAVIA, IL - While motorists should always be mindful of their speedometers, local law enforcement officers are urging residents to be particularly cognizant this week as part of a statewide push to curb reckless driving.

The Batavia Police Department is participating on Wednesday, July 26, in 2017 Illinois Speed Awareness Day. Officers will be taking a proactive approach to promote safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists through both education and enforcement, they said.

"Let's do our part ... to prevent fatalities and reduce injuries on the roadways by being aware of our speed and obeying the speed limit signs ALL the time," said a police department news release.

Speed was to blame for more than one-third of Illinois' fatal crashes in 2015; equating to 369 deaths, or one life every 23.7 hours.

"These lives can be easily saved by being aware of our speed and understanding how speeding impacts a crash," the release said.

Officers are urging residents to keep in mind that:

• The higher the speed at impact, the more severe injuries will be;
• About 37 percent of all crash-related injuries are due to speed;
• When speeding, there is a greater chance that others in the roadway will misjudge how fast you're traveling;
• Speeding extends stopping distance;
• A 1 percent decrease in travel speed reduces injuries by about 2 percent, a serious crash by about 3 percent and a fatal crash by 4 percent; and
• Speeding compromises a driver's ability to navigate safely around curves or objects in the roadway.

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