Quincy Police Department releases holiday enforcement numbers

QUINCY — Quincy Police Department recently partnered with the Illinois Department of Transportation and law enforcement across the state for the holiday “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign. From Dec. 16 through Jan. 2, the Quincy Police Department showed zero tolerance for impaired driving, arresting no offenders.

In a press release, Gabriel Vanderbol said “We can’t stress this enough. Impaired driving is illegal, potentially deadly behavior, and it puts the driver, passengers and all road users at risk. The ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign helps our law enforcement officers address this problem head on. If you use any impairing substance, do not get behind the wheel of a vehicle.”

The Quincy Police Department ramped up its usual enforcement efforts, adding 16 checkpoints. There were 34 seat belt, 26 speeding, no distracted driving and 24 other traffic citations.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, in 2020, a total of 11,654 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver. On average, more than 10,000 people were killed each year from 2016 to 2020, with one person killed in an alcohol-related crash every 45 minutes in 2020.

The holiday enforcement campaign is administered by IDOT with federal highway safety funds managed by NHTSA.