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Will County — Illinois State Police announced it will be conducting extra Nighttime Enforcement, or NITE, patrols throughout July.
The patrols, announced by Troop 3 Commander Captain Patrick Manno, will be conducted in Will, Cook, DuPage, and Kane counties and focusing on preventing, detecting, and taking enforcement actions against impaired driving and occupant restraint violations between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
According to the state police announcement, the number of unrestrained drivers killed in traffic crashes is much higher at nighttime and combined with impaired driving leads to increased traffic deaths during late night hours.
Officers will reportedly be watching for motorists who show signs of impaired driving, improper seatbelt and child restraint usage, speeding, distracted driving and other Illinois Vehicle Code violations.
According to ISP, alcohol and drug impairment are a factor in more than 47% of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in Illinois and over half of all fatal crashes occur at night.
The NITE program is funded through IDOT and “allows officers to work even harder to remove dangerous impaired drivers from the road and make sure everyone is buckled up,” according to the announcement.