Occupant Protection
CIOT at the Ballpark!
In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of wearing safety belts, the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety has partnered with minor league baseball teams across the state. From Rockford to Springfield and beyond, our regional Occupant Protection Coordinators (OPC) organized “Click It or Ticket” (CIOT) nights at the ballparks.
On July 6th, OPC’s, police officers and local volunteers greeted fans at the Schaumburg Flyer’s baseball game. Members of the Illinois State Police, Schaumburg, Riverwoods and Buffalo Grove Police departments met each vehicle that entered the stadium parking lot and checked the occupants to see if they were wearing safety belts. Everyone who was wearing a safety belt or was in a child safety seat received a free ticket to a future baseball game. Each fan was also given a bright yellow clicker with the CIOT message on it. The stadium was clicking with excitement! In addition to the clickers, fans also received safety information and Click it or Ticket seat cushions.
Before the game, two Saved by the Safety Belt awards were given to two 18 year old students who survived a rollover crash. Mark Hollander of Highland Park and Benjamin Weis of Deerfield were riding together in Riverwoods, Illinois when they were involved in a severe crash.
On May 28, 2010, Buffalo Grove and Riverwoods Police responded to the scene of a severe rollover crash. Upon arrival, officers observed Mark and Ben standing on the side of the road near the crash scene. Officers asked them if they saw the crash. They responded they were in the crash. The vehicle they were in was struck by a driver who ran a red light which caused their vehicle to flip over. Both Mark and Ben were not injured in the crash because they were wearing their safety belts.
In addition to receiving their awards, Mark and Ben also threw out the first pitch of the ball game.
Click it or Ticket messages were heard and seen throughout the ball game. Safety messages were read by the announcer while OPC’s, police officers and volunteers mingled with the crowd to speak to them about occupant protection safety. It was safe to say everyone had a great time and the event was a huge success.
Alliance Sports Marketing helped promote the games statewide.
By Sergeant Scott Kristiansen -Traffic Unit
Education and Enforcement Key to Mobilization Success
In 2009, Illinois recorded the lowest number of fatalities on roadways since 1921 with 911. However, despite the low fatalities, the 2009 Memorial Day weekend was one of the deadliest on record for Illinois with 17 crashes resulting in 30 deaths. In an effort to not repeat this dreadful record, the 2010 Click it or Ticket (CIOT) mobilization utilized stepped up enforcement and education.
The Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety (IDOT/DTS) partnered with Illinois State Police and nearly 500 local law enforcement agencies in an effort to increase safety belt enforcement during the May 14-31, 2010 CIOT Mobilization. On May 25th, IDOT/DTS held nine statewide evening press events to kick off the mobilization with the clear message that law enforcement is on duty both day and night. Late night safety belt enforcement has become a cornerstone of the CIOT campaign because late evening hours are the deadliest time on our roadways.
Public education was another large component of the CIOT campaign again this year. IDOT/DTS was pleased to partner with Casey's General Stores to promote the CIOT message. Bottle tags with the buckle up and drive sober message were distributed to all 377 Casey's General Stores in Illinois. Casey employees placed these tags on soda bottles and beer bottles to remind customers to drive responsibly. This outreach program was geared at reaching the large rural population in Illinois which is served by Casey's General Stores.
Provisional numbers show that the enforcement efforts were effective with 16 deaths in 14 crashes reported from the 2010 Memorial Day weekend. It is no coincidence that Illinois also reached its highest safety belt compliance rate ever with 92.6 percent of residents wearing their safety belts up from 91.7 percent in 2009! While this is certainly an improvement, we will continue working diligently to eliminate unnecessary deaths.
By Jennifer Toney, Acting State Occupant Protection Coordinator
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