Crime & Safety

Police Buckle Down on Seatbelt Scofflaws Over Thanksgiving

The Oak Forest Police Department handed out 131 tickets to motorists over the Thanksgiving holiday as part of a state-funded campaign.

Not wearing a seatbelt because you had a stuffed belly from Thanksgiving dinner probably wasn't an excuse the Oak Forest Police Department was letting slide this holiday.

Officers ticketed 131 motorists from Nov. 21 through Dec. 1, as part of a state-funded traffic enforcement campaign, according to a City of Oak Forest press release. And guess what the most common offense was?

“Of the citations issued, the vast majority were issued for drivers and passengers failing to wear seatbelts,” Deputy Chief Dominic D’Ambrosio stated in the release. “The holiday season is the busiest time of year for seatbelt enforcement.”

The campaign, which is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program, is the first of six that will enforce seatbelt laws through saturation patrols in areas around the city.

Police will run a similar campaign later this month around the Christmas and New Year holidays.

YOUR TURN: What do think of these seatbelt enforcement campaigns? Share your thoughts in the comments section.


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