The Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police, and local law enforcement agencies are joining together to catch speeders, people that are texting and driving, and people that are drinking and driving. Cynthia Watters, IDOT’s bureau chief of Safety Programs and Engineering, says that more cars on the roads leads to the greater potential of crashes. She encourages everyone to buckle up every trip, every time, to help keep yourself and others safer. 

Watters asks everyone to remember the rules with children.  If you are traveling with a child, they are required to ride in a child safety seat until the age of 8 and must remain in a rear-facing-seat until the age of 2. 

The Illinois tollway is expecting over nine million vehicles on its system over the Thanksgiving Weekend.

IL Tollway Spokesperson Dan Rozek says that lane closures for most roads will end for the weekend to help get you where you need to go easier.

Rozek says that there are still people going to fast through work zones and causing problems.

ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly says to ensure everyone is buckled up, drive sober, and please keep your eyes on the road when behind the wheel.  He is also encouraging everyone to move over for any vehicle with emergency lights activated on the road. 

With more vehicles on the road, Illinois crash fatalities continue to rise.  As of November 12th, there have been 1,090 fatalities compared to 1,029 on the same date in 2020. There will be hundreds of additional seat belt enforcement zones and other patrols aimed at keeping Illinois roads safe.  

The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket” campaigns are funded by federal traffic safety funds administered by IDOT.