Palos Heights Police DUI Patrols In Full Swing Over Holidays

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL — The holidays are a time for caring and sharing, which is why the Palos Heights Police Department is partnering with the Illinois Department of Transportation to spread the word about the dangers of impaired driving with a “Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Drive High. Get a DUI” enforcement campaign.

From Dec. 15 through Jan. 2, law enforcement across Illinois will show zero tolerance for alcohol- and drug-impaired driving to keep roads safe and help ensure a happy holiday season.
“If you’ll be celebrating with festive drinks or other impairing substances, make a plan for a safe ride home before you leave for the party,” said Chief William Czajkowski, . “Driving impaired is simply unacceptable. That’s why we make zero exceptions and arrest all impaired drivers. There are no excuses.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, in the United States in 2021, a total of 13,384 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver. On average, more than 10,000 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes each year from 2017 to 2021, with one person killed in a drunk-driving crash approximately every 45 minutes.

These fatalities are preventable, and drivers must remember that driving impaired — by alcohol, cannabis or any other substance, whether legal or not — is potentially deadly and illegal behavior.