Highland Park Police Increase Patrols to Target Drunk Drivers

The summer travel season is in full force. All too often, that means more traffic and a greater potential for traffic crashes. From June 23 through July 6, 2014, Highland Park Police will participate in the annual Fourth of July, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) traffic safety enforcement initiative, focusing on both impaired and unbuckled drivers. The intensified enforcement effort will focus on late-night hours as statistics show a disproportionate number of traffic deaths occur late at night and involve an impaired driver and/or unbuckled motorist. The enforcement is part of the statewide, Independence Day Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Click It or Ticket effort. The Highland Park Police Department will be joined by the Illinois State Police and hundreds of local police and sheriff’s departments statewide.

To avoid a potential crash or DUI arrest, the Highland Park Police Department recommends designating a sober driver, and not letting friends or family members drive while impaired. Other important tips include:

• Plan ahead. Designate a sober driver before going out and give that person your keys.
• If you are intoxicated, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member to get you home safely.
• Promptly report drunk drivers you see on the roadways to law enforcement by
• pulling over and dialing 911.
• Make sure everyone in your vehicle wears their seat belt. It is your best defense against a drunk driver.

The law enforcement crackdown is funded by federal traffic safety funds through IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety. The crackdown runs concurrently with a media campaign that reminds motorists, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket.”