Skokie Police Department to Crack Down on DUIs This Christmas

The Skokie Police Department announced its plans for the 2012 Holiday “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over/Click It or Ticket” Crackdown. The intensified enforcement effort against impaired drivers and seat belt law violators underscores the disproportionate number of traffic deaths caused by alcohol and failure to buckle up. The stepped-up enforcement will begin Dec. 17 and run through New Year’s Eve. Enforcement efforts will concentrate on the deadly nighttime hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

According to data from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the midnight to 3 a.m. timeframe is the deadliest time on Illinois roadways, and 9 p.m. is the time of day when data shows that alcohol involvement and low seat belt use begins to play a much more significant role in motor vehicle fatalities. Data shows alcohol and lack of belt use continues throughout the nighttime hours until 6 a.m.

“The numbers do not lie. We will be stepping up our late-night enforcement efforts, making sure impaired drivers are off the road and motorists are buckled up,” said Sergeant David Pawlak. “In Skokie, the message is simple:  Drive sober or get pulled over."

Several DUI roadside safety checkpoints in conjunction with several saturation patrols will take place in the early morning hours during this upcoming holiday period. The dates, times, and locations of these checkpoints are as follows:

• Friday, Dec. 21 – 22 - 11:15 p.m. – 3:15 a.m., 8200 Skokie Blvd.
• Saturday, Dec. 22 – 23 - 11:15 p.m. – 3:15 a.m., 5005 Dempster St.L
• Saturday, Dec.  29 – 30 11:15 p.m. – 3:15 a.m., 5000 Old Orchard Rd.