COOK COUNTY, IL – Due to the rise in injuries and deaths caused by traffic accidents, Cook County Sheriff’s Police are continuing their efforts to address excess speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors by partnering with the Illinois State Police, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.
The joint mission is running over the course of two weeks in June during the mornings and afternoons on the expressways in the Chicago area. Officers from both agencies will focus on the “Fatal Four” violations: speeding, DUI’s, distracted driving, and failure to wear a seatbelt. In the mission’s first day, 148 drivers were stopped. Distracted driving was the most ticketed offense with 27 violations, followed by speeding at 19.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, last year alone, nearly 43,000 individuals were killed on roadways throughout the country. That’s an increase of more than 10 percent since 2020, and the highest reported since 2005. An estimated 1,357 of these occurred in Illinois, a 13 percent increase from 2020.
So far this year, Sheriff’s Police have issued more than 1,200 tickets for distracted driving, speeding, and failure to wear a seatbelt. Sheriff’s Police arrested 290 individuals for driving under the influence and aggravated speeding.
Last year, Sheriff’s Police stopped more than 4,500 for distracted driving, speeding, and failure to wear a seatbelt. More than 1,200 individuals were arrested for driving under the influence and aggravated speeding.
“People should be able to safely use our roadways without fear of being injured or killed because another driver is speeding or using their cell phone,” said Sheriff Dart. “It’s inexcusable and preventable.”
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