The Lake County Sheriff’s Office completed its 2016 fiscal year Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) traffic safety grant with additional DUI enforcement, which was conducted every weekend during the month of September.

During the 2016 grant, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office worked over 1,220 hours, focusing on DUI enforcement, speed enforcement, and seat belt usage. Extra enforcement patrols were conducted over specific holiday weekends, and during several non-holiday weekends. The extra enforcement resulted in 55 DUI arrests, 42 non-traffic arrests, and 11 warrant arrests, during the extra traffic safety enforcement hours.

During the extra traffic safety efforts, there were a total of 1,487 citations issued, which include 795 seat belt citations and 351 speeding citation.

“We gave motorists warning that we’d be out stopping drunk drivers, and we did just that,” said Sheriff Mark Curran. “Drunk driving is a reckless, 100% preventable crime, and one which usually leads to tragedy.”

“The Lake County Sheriff’s Office continues being proactive, keeping our roadways safe” added Undersheriff Ray Rose. “There is no doubt we saved lives during this campaign, which is exactly what we set out to do.”

The grant was funded by federal traffic safety funds administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was awarded another traffic safety grant, administered through IDOT, for the 2017 fiscal year.