Oak Lawn Cops Ramp Up DUI Patrols Through July 4

Oak Lawn, IL, June 24, 2016 -- The Oak Lawn Police Department has started its DUI and seat belt enforcement patrols in advance of the Fourth of July holiday.

From now until July 4, police will be paying extra attention to traffic for signs of impaired or distracted drivers and seat belt usage, as part of the Illinois’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.

• Related: Memorial Day Weekend DUI Crackdown Nets Dozens of Violators

“Don’t even think about drinking and driving this Fourth of July – or you will be arrested,” said Sgt. M. Acke, of the Oak Lawn Police Department. “The ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign means zero tolerance for drunk driving, no excuses.”

While stories of local DUI and seat belt enforcement patrols tend to get wildly shared on neighborhood social media to avoid police, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows that young drivers (18 to 34 years old) are especially as risk of driving drunk. In fact, nationally, 58 percent of the drivers, ages 18 to 34, killed over the Fourth of July holiday were found to have BACs of .08 or higher.

Motorcycle operators are also overrepresented as the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired drivers in fatal crashes. In 2014, more than a quarter (29 percent) of motorcycle operators in fatal crashes had BACs of .08 or higher, according to the NHTSA.

Party hosts, too, can be held liable and prosecuted if a guest leaves their party drunk and is involved in an accident, not to mention named in a civil suit.

Getting a DUI means a loss of freedom and money, including going to jail, losing your license and paying steep financial expenses. Drunk drivers also put their own lives and lives of others at risk.

So, designate a driver, don’t let your friends or party guests drive drunk, call a cab, Uber or Lyft if you’ve had too much to drink, or stay where you’re at and sleep it off.

Oak Lawn police will also be checking vehicles for seat belt usage, especially in the evening when seat belt usage tends to decline. OLPD cited 117 drivers for seat belt violations during the Memorial Day enforcement. Not wearing a seat belt is probable cause for police to stop a vehicle, so if your eyes are bloodshot and your speech slurred from drinking -- watch out.

And for all you sober drivers out there, be aware of wobbly pedestrians that may have had too much to drink.

Be safe and smart this holiday. We don’t want to see you in bond court or in the police blotter.