‘High-visibility nighttime enforcement effort’ set for Dec. 23-31

From press release

PECATONICA, Ill.—Captain James Winters, Commander of the Illinois State Police District 16, is announcing a Year-end High Visibility Enforcement Effort campaign that will begin Wednesday, Dec. 23, throughout District 16 and will continue until the end of the 2009.

“This enforcement initiative partners the Illinois State Police with the Illinois Department of Transportation and local police agencies around the state in high-visibility nighttime enforcement zones,” Winters said. “Statistics show that fatal crashes involving alcohol occur most often between midnight and 6 a.m., which is also the time when people are less likely to buckle up.

“As of today, there have been 904 fatalities statewide in 2009 compared to 1,011 fatalities in the year 2008,” Winters added. “Through the high-visibility nighttime enforcement effort, we hope to have a strong year-end effort to save more than 100 lives in 2009, which will be the first time in many decades that Illinois has suffered fewer than 1,000 traffic fatalities.”