PECATONICA — Illinois State Police (ISP) District 16 Commander, Acting Captain Joseph Blanchette, recently announced the results of several enforcement programs and protocols during March.
Illinois State Police District 16 Troopers issued 496 total citations and 630 written warnings during the month of March. Speed violations accounted for 185 citations. Fifty-seven citations were issued for occupant restraint violations and 44 enforcement documents were issued for distracted driving violations.
Troopers investigated 25 traffic crashes and assisted 82 motorists. One hundred forty-nine commercial motor vehicle inspections were completed with 21 drivers and/or vehicles being placed out of service.
Troopers made 6 arrests for driving under the influence and 18 criminal arrests. Six enforcement documents were issued for Scott’s Law violations.
District 16, which encompasses Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, and Boone Counties, had 4 traffic fatalities in March.
Distracted Driving Enforcement Program
This program provided extra patrol coverage for ISP officers to focus on saving lives and reducing serious crashes by enforcing distracted driving laws.
There were 36 total citations and 11 written warnings. There were 16 total distracted driving citations, 12 hand-held phone/device citations and four texting-while-driving citations.
The extra enforcement patrols were made possible by federal traffic safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Nighttime Enforcement (NITE)
These NITE patrols allowed 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 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.
There were 28 total citations, four arrests and 22 written warnings. There were four insurance violations, four driver’s license offenses, four registration offenses and one occupant restraint offense.
Alcohol and drug impairment is a factor in more than 30% of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in Illinois. Over half of all fatal crashes in Illinois occur at night. The NITE program allows officers to work even harder at removing dangerous impaired drivers from the road and making sure everyone is buckled up. This project is funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Alcohol Countermeasure Enforcement (ACE)
These ACE patrols allowed 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.
There were 18 citations, 25 written warnings, four insurance violations, one drivers license offense, four registration offenses, three citations for occupant restraints and three other citations involving alcohol or drugs.
There is one alcohol-related traffic fatality every 53 minutes in the United States. The ACE program allows officers to work even harder at removing dangerous DUI offenders from the road. This project is funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Occupant Restraint Enforcement Patrols (OREP)
Held in Stephenson and Winnebago counties during March, these OREPs provided extra patrol coverage for the ISP so officers could focus on saving lives by making sure all vehicle occupants were buckled up.
There were 63 total violations, 33 written warnings and 39 safety belt citations.
Most motorists know safety belts save lives, but some ignore their safety and that of their families by neglecting to use safety belts and child restraint devices. These patrols reinforce the occupant protection message by focusing on those who ignore the law. Lives can be saved if people simply “buckle up!” This project is funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation.