Highland Park Police Begin Holiday Crackdown

 The information below comes from the Highland Park Police Department.

The Highland Park Police Department has announced its plans for the 2012 Holiday “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over/Click It or Ticket” Crackdown.

The intensified enforcement effort against drunk drivers and seat belt violations underscores the disproportionate number of traffic deaths caused by alcohol consumption and the failure to buckle up. The stepped-up enforcement will begin December 17 and run through New Year’s Eve. Additional police officers will be patrolling the City, actively enforcing these traffic laws. 

According to data from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the midnight to 3 a.m. timeframe is the deadliest time on Illinois roadways, and 9 p.m. is the time of day when data shows that alcohol involvement and low seat belt use begins to play a much more significant role in motor vehicle fatalities. Data shows alcohol and lack of belt use continues throughout the nighttime hours until 6 a.m. Enforcement efforts will concentrate on the nighttime hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. 

“The numbers do not lie. They underscore the very real human tragedy that often results when drivers and passengers do not comply with these laws. We will be stepping up our late-night enforcement efforts, making sure drunk drivers are taken off our roads and motorists and their passengers are buckled up,” said Police Chief Paul Shafer. “In Highland Park the message is really very simple…Drive Sober or Get Pulled over and Click It or Ticket.” 

The Department recommends these simple, common sense tips be taken seriously to avoid a tragedy or an arrest: 

• Designate a driver that will remain sober throughout the evening, so they can provide safe transportation home at the end of the night. 
• Never allow friends or family members to drive drunk. Take their keys away.
• If you know you will be drinking, plan ahead to call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member to pick you up 
• If you see an intoxicated driver on the roadway, call the police to respond and investigate 
• Wear your seat belt at all times, both drivers and passengers. It is your best defense against a drunk driver 

This law enforcement crackdown runs concurrently with a media campaign that reminds motorists to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket,” and is administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation with funds made available via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.