Buffalo Grove Police Win Traffic Safety Award, Sees Significant Decrease in Crashes

Submission by the village of Buffalo Grove

The Buffalo Grove Police Department was awarded second place in the 2015 Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge.

The department participated in the statewide effort from January through December of 2015, which was coordinated by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) and supported by a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) grant administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Safety.

The focus of the effort is to make communities safer through concerted efforts relating to seat belt and speed enforcement, as well as providing for regular patrols to search for impaired motorists. The overall goal is to detect and deter crime, and to be proactive in reducing crashes and resulting injuries.

Data taken from the Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge website shows agencies who have participated in the challenge contribute significantly to reducing crashes and injuries.

Crashes within Buffalo Grove were reduced from 1,408 in 2014 to 995 in 2015. Buffalo Grove also had a 97.62-percent seat belt usage compliance rate, which is approximately 2-percent higher than the state average.

The Buffalo Grove Police Department competed against districts within the Illinois State Police, sheriff’s departments and other agencies who employ more than 250 officers.

Buffalo Grove came in first place in 2014. An awards luncheon will be held in August of 2016 to recognize all Traffic Safety

Challenge winners and their efforts. The event is hosted by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, in conjunction with the Midwest Security and Police Expo.

For more information, visit http://www.iltrafficchallenge.org/.