Police in Brookfield and Riverside have begun their annual “Click It or Ticket” holiday traffic enforcement sweeps and will continue their efforts through the end of the month.
The enforcement campaign, paid for through grants from the Illinois Department of Transportation, includes “safety zones” where officer will ticket any driver who is not wearing a seatbelt or whose passengers aren’t following seatbelt laws.
Illinois mandated the use of safety belts in vehicles beginning in 1985, and in 2003 the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation allowing police to stop vehicles whose drivers and/or passengers were not wearing a seatbelt as required by law.
In June, the Illinois Department of Transportation reported seatbelt use at nearly 93 percent statewide. In 1985, seatbelt use was just 16 percent, IDOT reported.
During last year’s Thanksgiving enforcement period, Brookfield police in 84 hours issued 102 citations and made one drunk-driving arrest. Riverside police in 70 hours handed out 85 citations.