CREDIT: http://www.buckleupillinois.org/

Kane County police departments are reminding residents to fasten their seat belts and drive safely during the holiday season or run the risk of receiving a ticket.

From Friday, Dec. 19, to Sunday, Jan. 4, police in Geneva and other Kane County communities will be out in force conducting seat belt enforcement around the clock as part of a statewide effort. Additional patrols will take place at night when seat belt use is at its lowest and impaired driving poses its biggest threat.

Officers also will be performing a seat belt compliance check at one of Geneva’s major intersections Monday, Dec. 22, and Geneva officers are prepared to ticket violators.

The Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police and more than 230 law enforcement agencies across the state are participating in this comprehensive effort to save lives on Illinois roads at a time of year that can be one of the most deadly.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts saved more than 12,000 lives nationwide in 2012.

Illinois has an opportunity in 2014 to make even more history by recording one of its lowest annual motor vehicle fatality totals ever, with a chance at achieving an all-time, modern-day low. As of Dec. 17, 2014, 878 people have lost their lives on Illinois roads, which is 78 lower than the same timeframe in 2013.

During the 2013 Christmas holiday (6 p.m. Dec. 24 to 11:59 p.m. Dec.25), two people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in Illinois. Both fatalities involved a drinking driver. Over the last five years in Illinois (2009-2013), 38 fatalities occurred in Illinois during Christmas, 11 of which (29 percent) involved a drinking driver.

For more information about the “Click It or Ticket” and the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaigns, visit www.buckleupillinois.org.