Buckle Up to Avoid a Ticket During St. Patrick's Day Weekend

The Vernon Hills Police Department will have extra officers on the street to watch for drivers who are driving in an unsafe way during St. Patrick's Day weekend. More specifically, it will be the job of these officers to seek out and ticket drivers - or passengers - who are not wearing a seat belt. 

These details are a continuation of the state grant the Vernon Hills Police Department received to increase seat belt usage throughout the state.

Special details will be conducted March 14-17.

Since 2012, Illinois law requires all passengers, regardless of age or location in the vehicle, to be secured in a seat belt or an appropriately approved child restraint system.

If a passenger has a disability or medical condition that makes him/her unable to secure his/her own safety belt, the driver is responsible for securing and adjusting the safety belt for that passenger.

It is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that all passengers obey the safety belt law and the Child Passenger Protection Act. Anyone found guilty of disobeying this law is subject to a $60 fine and court costs.

Safety belt use is especially important for teens and young adults. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people age 15 to 34 in the United States. Even though most people buckle-up, the majority of motor vehicle occupants killed in crashes last year were unrestrained.

Anyone with questions regarding occupant restraint laws or any other traffic law can contact the Vernon Hills Police Department Traffic Unit hotline at (847) 362-4449 ext. 4832.