Contact:
Deputy Chief Joe Gallo| 217-403-6911 | [email protected]
Champaign Police Ask for Your Support in Promoting Safe and Happy Holidays
by Encouraging Motorists to Buckle Up and Drive Sober
The holiday season is upon us, and for many, “holiday cheer” involves the consumption of alcohol at parties and events. Very unfortunately, there is also a spike in drunk-driving crashes each December.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in the single month of December 2013, a staggering 733 people lost their lives in crashes involving a drunk driver; and on Christmas Day 2013, 23 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes.
Champaign Police are again joining law enforcement agencies across America to help curb drunk-driving-related fatalities with its “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” safety initiative. Through the New Year, officers will be communicating with local agencies regarding the safe service of alcohol as well as actively seeking to arrest alcohol-impaired drivers.
“Drunk driving is a choice you make, and when you make that choice, far too many people get hurt or die,” said Sergeant Geoff Coon. “We need all drivers to get the message. If you plan on drinking at the holiday party or at a restaurant, plan ahead and hand driving over to someone else – a sober friend, a taxi or public transportation,” Sgt. Coon continued.
In the year of 2013, 10,076 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in the U.S., almost a third of all traffic fatalities. Of those 10,076 people who were killed in impaired driving crashes, 65 percent were the drunk drivers themselves.
Please support law enforcement agencies across the nation in doing all that you can to keep you, your neighbors and loved ones from adding to this statistic. “We can’t stand to see this tragic loss of life again and again,” added Sgt. Coon. “The hardest part of the job is making that house call and telling a family that their loved one is gone because someone chose to drink and drive. That’s why we will show zero tolerance for drunk drivers on the road.”
Seat belt law violators will also be a focus of the traffic safety initiative. Anyone not wearing a seat belt will receive a ticket – no exceptions. The Click It or Ticket consequence applies to back seat riders, as well. Illinois law requires that you buckle up, no matter where you’re sitting.
For more information about “Click It or Ticket”, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and other traffic safety details, visit http://www.idot.illinois.gov.