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Orland Park Police participate in Thanksgiving Traffic Safety campaign

Travelers are urged to buckle up and designate a sober driver this Thanksgiving

As Illinoisans gear up for one of the busiest travel times of the year, the Orland Park Police Department announced its plans for a traffic safety campaign focusing on impaired and unbuckled drivers.

“Holiday traffic brings with it an increased risk for accidents,” said Orland Park Police Lieutenant Jason Ford. “To ensure your family makes it to and from your Thanksgiving festivities without incident, make a conscious choice to buckle up and plan ahead for a sober ride home.”

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 15 motor vehicle crash fatalities occurred in Illinois over the 2018 Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Five of the 15 deaths occurred in crashes involving at least one driver who had been drinking.

The Orland Park Police Department is partnering with the Illinois State Police and local law enforcement across Illinois for the increased statewide effort. The high-visibility crackdown will run from Nov. 22 through the holiday weekend into the early morning hours of Dec. 2.

The “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaigns are funded by federal traffic safety funds administered by IDOT. The crackdown runs concurrently with a media campaign reminding motorists that impaired driving has “Life or Death” consequences. Visit LifeOrDeathIllinois.com for more information.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

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