The Arlington Heights Police Department will be conducting a St. Patrick’s Day Traffic Enforcement Campaign from Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 20 to identify motorists who choose to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Enforcement efforts will consist of establishing various “Saturation Patrols” throughout the Village, during the late night and early morning hours of the day.
This traffic enforcement effort is made possible through a Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant, awarded through the Illinois Department of Transportation. The grant augments the current traffic safety law enforcement efforts within the Village limits.
In addition to the St. Patrick’s Day Campaign, two Roadside Safety Checkpoints will be conducted. The first Safety Checkpoint will be held on Friday, March 11, from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m., on Arlington Heights Road between Interstate I-90 and Algonquin Road. The checkpoint will be conducted with the assistance of the Elk Grove Village Police Department. The second checkpoint will be held on Friday, March 18, from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m., on Dundee Road, east of Route 53.
The STEP Grant provides funding to the Arlington Heights Police Department for eight enforcement campaigns over a one-year period. The campaigns have been established to coincide with selected holiday periods in which there is a documented increase of traffic crashes and related injuries. The focus of the grant is to reduce personal injury and fatal traffic accidents through traffic law enforcement. The campaigns target accident reduction with rotating themes such as “Click it or Ticket” and “You Drink and Drive. You Lose.” The campaign’s two-pronged approach includes periods of public education followed by increased selective enforcement of related traffic offenses.
Many lives can be saved by changing public attitudes regarding risk taking behaviors such as speeding, impaired driving, and the non-use of safety belts and child safety seats. Visible enforcement programs focusing on these violations offer the greatest potential for changing these behaviors.