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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
During 1998, a total of
1,393 Illinois motorists lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes,
and an additional 134,956 were injured. These crashes resulted in an
estimated cost of $7.4 billion. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)
data indicate that alcohol is a contributing factor in 43 percent of
fatal traffic crashes in Illinois. In addition, the state has a secondary
seat belt law, resulting in a statewide seat belt use rate of 65 percent.
Illinois Department of Transportation
officials believed that many lives could be saved by modifying the public's
attitudes about risk taking behaviors including impaired driving, speeding
and the non-use of seat belts and child safety seats. It has been demonstrated
that increased, visible enforcement programs, targeting these violations,
are the single most effective means of altering these risky driving
behaviors.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Mini-Grant
Alcohol Enforcement Program (MAP) was developed by the Illinois Department
of Transportation, in 1999, to reduce the number of alcohol-related
traffic crash injuries and fatalities statewide. Primary objectives
of the project were to:
- Increase
enforcement of impaired driving laws, speed limits and the use of
occupant restraint systems
- Educate
Illinois residents about the tragic consequences of drinking and driving,
and of not using occupant restraint devices
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The MAP
program was established to provide funding for a series of seven mini-grant
enforcement blitzes, conducted by law enforcement agencies throughout
Illinois. Individual police departments use the funding to provide increased
enforcement of impaired driving laws, and secondary enforcement of speed
and occupant protection laws. The enforcement campaigns all follow a
four-week schedule of activities that include:
- Week 1 consists
of a concentrated public information campaign, including press releases,
and a kickoff media event announcing the enforcement campaign
- During Weeks
2 and 3, the enforcement campaign is conducted, with law enforcement
officers working overtime hours. Patrols are spread out over the two
week period, with the most concentrated enforcement occurring on weekends
and holidays between 9:00 pm to 3:00 am (when the highest incidence
of alcohol-related crashes occur)
- Week 4 involves
a series of press releases and a media event publicizing the results
of the program
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