SOUTHERN ILLINOIS—Illinois State Police Occupant Restraint Enforcement Patrol (OREP) in Gallatin County, held October 17, was the subject of an ISP press release today, and along with some other announcements, shows that ISP’s patrols are in full swing between now and throughout the month of November.
In Gallatin, the stats for the Oct. 17 detail were as follows:
Safety Belt Citations issued: 12
Child Restraint Citations issued: 2
Total Citations issued: 25
Total Warnings issued: 9
Patrols in Wayne and White counties in November
Illinois State Police District 19 Commander, Captain Kelly Hodge, also announced that officers will conduct special Traffic Enforcement Patrols (sTEP) during the month of November in Wayne and White counties.
District 19 Troopers will concentrate on speeding, failure to use occupant restraints, and other driving offenses as part of their enforcement efforts. The sTEP program involves a combination of increased enforcement and public information designed to raise public awareness and compliance to all traffic laws. Speeding is a contributing factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes nationwide. In Illinois, speed-related crashes account for over 40 percent of all traffic fatalities.
Safety Belt Enforcement Zones may also be used during the sTEP program. Troopers will enforce the primary safety belt law to ensure drivers and all of their passengers are buckled up. Every hour someone dies in America simply because they are not wearing their safety belt. Statistics show that half of all people killed in traffic crashes are not
properly buckled up. You can save your life by driving safely and simply buckling up.
This project is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Safety.
Seatbelt patrols in Wayne and Saline in November
Hodge has also announced that District 19 Troopers will conduct Occupant Restraint Enforcement Patrols (OREP) in Wayne and Saline Counties during the month of November.
OREP allows the ISP to target an area with saturation patrols that focus on traffic violations and related compliance with safety belt and child safety seat laws. Safety belt enforcement zones will also be set up to ensure the driver and passengers are buckled up. Illinois law requires all vehicle passengers (front and back) to be buckled up!
Safety belts are one of the most effective safety devices in vehicles today, estimated to save over 12,000 lives each year. Over half of vehicle occupants killed in a traffic crash were not properly buckled up. The objective of this program is to increase compliance of occupant restraint laws through education, child seat inspections, and enforcement.
Greater awareness, acceptance, and use of occupant protection equipment will save many lives. This project is also funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Safety.
Nighttime enforcement in Saline
District 19 will conduct a Nighttime Enforcement Patrol (NITE) in Saline County during the month of November, according to District 19 Commander, Captain Kelly Hodge.
The ISP has zero tolerance for impaired drivers. Therefore, officers working NITE patrols will be watchful for drivers who are operating vehicles in an unsafe manner, driving with a suspended or revoked driver?s license, transporting open alcoholic beverages, driving under the influence, and are not properly buckled up.
Alcohol and drug impairment is a significant factor in over 40 percent of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in Illinois. These nighttime patrols are designed to keep our roads safe by taking dangerous DUI offenders off the road and ensuring all vehicle occupants are buckled up.
This project is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Safety.