The Illinois Department of transportation, State Police and hundreds of local law enforcement agencies urge motorists to plan a safe ride home and never gret behind the wheel after drinking. This St. Patrick's Weekend law enforcement officials across Illinois will increase patrols to crack down on drunk drivers as part of the statewide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over public safety campaign. Today through St. Patrick's Day, Sunday, IDOT will provide more than $600,000 in federal highway safety dollars to rund additional roadside safety checks, saturation patrols and other impaired driving countermeasures. A combined total of more than 1,000 roadside safety checks, safety belt enforcement zones and other enforcement activities will take place during the St. Patrick's Day period. According to date, during the last five years in Illinois, 10 people lost their lives in motor vehcle crashes on St. Patrick's Day including 3 deaths during St. Patrick's Day 2012.
