SPEED AWARENESS DAY CAMPAIGN A SUCCESS FOR HANOVER PARK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2022
Deputy Chief Victor Divito
630-823-5515
vdivito@hpil.org

Hanover Park, Illinois- The Hanover Park Police Department joined law enforcement officers from six states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin) on July 27 in this year’s NHTSA Region 5 high visibility Speed Awareness Day enforcement campaign.  Hanover Park Police Officers made 134 traffic stops and issued a total of 131 citations during the campaign, with 103 of those citations being for speed related violations. The speed awareness campaign had a twofold approach: to combine increased, zero-tolerance enforcement with effective communication to road users on the importance of obeying the speed limit. 
 
The speed awareness campaign was a 1-day speed enforcement event coordinated by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, participating state highway safety offices and their respective law enforcement liaisons. The initiative was held in July because studies show that the most fatal crashes where speed is a contributing factor occur between June and September.

“The hard work of our officers in these enforcement efforts were instrumental in preventing injuries and saving lives,” said Deputy Chief Victor DiVito. “We want to remind the public that speed is one of the leading contributing factors to fatal traffic crashes. There is never a good reason for a motorist to exceed the speed limit and endanger others.”
NHTSA statistical projections for 2021 shows traffic deaths grew by 10.5% to 42,915.  This also represents the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the highest annual percentage increase in the recorded history of data in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

In 2020 there were 5,413 fatal crashes in the six-state region with 1,668 (30.08%) being speed related fatalities. This was an increase of 17.7% from 2020.  The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and save lives.  There is no reason to speed, it is unnecessary and endangers everyone on the road. 

For more information, please visit http://trafficsafetymarketing.gov/.