Police Kick Off "Click It Or Ticket," Target Late-Night Drivers

By Marcus Gilmer in News on May 17, 2010 2:40PM

Finding yourself driving about late at night for one reason or another? This should go without saying, but be sure to buckle up as the annual "Click It Or Ticket" campaign is now underway in Illinois and this year, state and local police are particularly targeting late-night drivers. Many fatal car crashes occur between midnight and 3 a.m.; that time period likely sees the most instances of not buckling up. And state police think there's a correlation. The Expired Meter explains:

IDOT crash data shows, of the 632 people killed in car crashes in 2009, 106 drivers or occupants were killed between the hours of 12 AM and 3 AM, far and away the deadliest three hours of the day. The number killed in this three hour period is nearly 17% of all fatalities last year.

Of those 106 fatalities, according to IDOT figures, just two of ten of those people were buckled up when they were killed. It’s IDOT’s contention that more of these motorists would have been alive if they had just buckled their seat belt.

Over the next several weeks, local police will set up "enforcement zones," most often red light intersections, where they'll observe drivers and issue tickets to those not wearing seatbelts. Fines for adults are $55 and go up to $75 when children under 8 years old are in the vehicle without being properly restrained.