Illinois DUI News

July 5, 2005

Illinois still not satisfied with the reduction in DUIs

In 2004, Illinois roads were the safest they have been in over 60 years, but Governor Blagojevich does not want to stop there. In the largest DUI crackdown in state history during the 4 th of July holiday weekend, the Governor signed new laws to step up enforcement beginning June 27 and running through July 10.

The tougher DUI safety measures signed into law range from increasing DUI penalties involving death to creation of the aggravated DUI offense. While the Governor signed the new DUI penalties into law, the Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois State Police are conducting the largest ever DUI crackdown over the holiday weekend with more than 800 roadside safety checks, taking a zero tolerance approach to impaired driving.

Nationally, fatalities in alcohol related crashes are on the decline, which has also been reflected in Illinois statistics as well. In 2003, there were 639 motorist deaths in alcohol related crashes, down from 648 in 2002. On average, over 40 percent of all traffic crashes in Illinois involve alcohol.

According to Timothy Martin, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), alcohol-related fatalities in the state are declining because of the Governor's commitment to the issue, which is why IDOT initiated the largest DUI enforcement of its kind over the holiday weekend.

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