U.S. 30 Crackdown Nets 241 Tickets

A traffic crackdown that extended the length of U.S. 30 between Oswego and Joliet resulted in 241 tickets being issued for everything from speeding to truck safety violations, Plainfield Police Sgt. Eric Munson said.

The Aug. 18 total was substantially higher than the 178 tickets issued in a similar traffic safety campaign a year earlier, Munson said.

The campaign was conducted from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Of the 241 tickets issued, 111 were for "occupant restraint" (typically related to seatbelt/car seat violations), 42 for speeding, 23 for traffic sign/signal violations and 15 for truck safety violations, Munson said.

The list also included 15 tickets for equipment violations, 13 for no proof of insurance, eight for moving violations, eight for driving with a revoked or suspended license, and six for registration violations.

In addition to the tickets, police also issued 43 warnings, took one driver and seven vehicles "out of service," and found five hazardous material violations.

The campaign was sponsored by the Plainfield and the Oswego police departments. Officers from the Illinois State Police, the Will County Sheriff's Department, the Illinois Commerce Commission Police and the Crest Hill, Joliet and Montgomery police departments participated.

Munson said Plainfield organizes a traffic crackdown once a year, and participates in crackdowns organized by other police departments, including a large one along Route 59 that's sponsored by the Naperville Police Department.

A public notice of the program is issued to give drivers fair warning, he said, but they still manage to find dozens of violations.

"The overwhelming majority are for seatbelt violations," Munson said. "I don't understand people and the reasons they give for not buckling up."

Plainfield typically has about 93 percent resident compliance with seatbelt laws, he said, but 7 percent is still a lot of people when you consider that 35,000 vehicles use Route 59 over a 24-hour period.