ULLIN – Motorists heading south from the River Region in southern Illinois, need to be careful next month.
Illinois State Police (ISP) District 22 Commander, Captain Michael Alvey, announces the ISP will conduct Roadside Safety Checks (RSCs) in Alexander, Massac and Union Counties, an Alcohol Countermeasure Enforcement (ACE) in Alexander County and Nighttime Enforcement (NITE) patrols in Johnson County during June.
Alvey says the use of RSCs combine a strong sense of public awareness and enforcement in order to save lives of the motoring public.
He said ACE patrols allow the ISP to focus on preventing, detecting, and taking enforcement action in response to violations associated with impaired driving and illegal transportation or consumption of alcohol or drugs.
And the commander noted that NITE patrols allow the ISP to focus on preventing, detecting, and taking enforcement action in response to impaired driving and occupant restraint violations especially between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The number of unrestrained drivers killed in traffic crashes is significantly higher at nighttime and combined with impaired driving means even more traffic deaths during these critical hours.
The ISP has zero tolerance for impaired driving in Illinois. Officers working the detail 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, and most importantly:
Driving Under the Influence (DUI); Safety Belt and Child Restraint use; Speeding; Distracted Driving; andAll Illinois Vehicle Code and Criminal Violations.
Alvey point out in a news release Monday that alcohol and drug impairment are factors in more than 30 percent of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in Illinois.
He also pointed out that there is one alcohol-related traffic fatality every 53 minutes in the United States.