State, local police team up to stop holiday impaired driving

(SPRINGFIELD) State and local law enforcement officials are warning motorists to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” during the Labor Day weekend.

The Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois State Police are teaming up with nearly 200 local police agencies to reduce fatalities on the heavily traveled weekend.

Police officers will be conducting roadside safety checks, patrolling for impaired drivers and setting up seatbelt enforcement zones.

Priscilla Tobias is director of the Transportation Department’s office of program development. She says fatal crashes on Illinois roads often occur late at night. Many involve drinking or failure to buckle safety belts.

Last year’s holiday weekend — 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Tuesday morning — cost 13 people their lives. Three involved drivers with alcohol in their systems.