Buckle Up and Drive Sober

                                      Thanksgiving enforcement underway as motor vehicle crash fatalities rise

The Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police and local law enforcement agencies throughout the state are joining together to ensure you make it to the Thanksgiving table by stepping up efforts to keep impaired drivers off the roads and encourage seat belt use.

“It’s well known that Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel times of the year,” said Cynthia Watters, IDOT’s bureau chief of Safety Programs and Engineering. “Although more cars on the roads means the potential for more crashes, most are preventable. By making plans for a sober ride home before attending festivities as well as buckling up every trip, every time, you are helping to make yourself and everyone on the road safer.”

Whether it’s driving down the road to a friend’s house, across town to pick up a turkey or hundreds of miles to see a relative – your seat belt is your best defense in case of a crash. If you’re traveling with children, they are required to ride in a child safety seat until at least age 8 in Illinois. Children must remain in a rear-facing seat until age 2.

94.1 WGFA