Editor's note: The following is a press release issued by the Plainfield Police Department:
The Plainfield Police Department will participate in the 2012 Holiday “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over/Click It or Ticket” crackdown. This intensified enforcement effort against drunk drivers and seat belt law violators underscores the disproportionate number of traffic deaths caused by alcohol and failure to buckle up.
The stepped-up enforcement began Dec. 17 and will run through New Year’s Eve. Enforcement efforts will concentrate on the deadly nighttime hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Please designate a sober driver and DO NOT let friends and family drive drunk as just two of several simple steps to avoid a tragic crash or an arrest for drunk driving. Other important tips include:
- Plan ahead. Designate a sober driver before going out and give that person your keys.
- If you are drunk, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member to get you home safely.
- Promptly report drunk drivers you see on the roadways to law enforcement.
- Wear your seat belt and make sure all passengers are buckled up. It is your best defense against a drunk driver.
This law enforcement crackdown runs concurrently with a media campaign that reminds motorists to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket,” and is administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation with funds made available via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Can you do anything about the fact that Plainfield spends all its resources on Holiday Crackdown's just like they did on July 4th? Are they trying to create a police state with their aggressive law enforcement? Does anyone care what our tax dollars go for? Maybe the Village of Plainfield should help people like other villages do and offer rides for people instead of trying to bust them so they can support the big fancy law enforcement building we have and ruin peoples lives.
The problem, is that you can get a DUI and still be BELOW 0.08. Why is that never mentioned in the articles or police press releases at the same time? So when people are arrested, and are actually below the .08 limit, yes it is ruining peoples lives. Do the police widely publicize this as much as they publicize the .08 limit? No, they don't. In fact they try to keep this as hidden as possible so as to not give away their tactics. While DUI enforcement is necessary, the swing to extreme and deceptive enforcement is not. I would much rather live in a community that helps its citizens, than sees them as its adversaries. "Orland Park, Tinley Park, Mokena, New Lenox and Palos Heights are providing chauffeured rides from 11 p.m. New Year's Eve until 4 a.m. New Year's Day. Stretch limousines will drive residents who call 1-855-230-1637 as long as pickup and drop-off locations are in participating towns."