24 Arrests Made During DUI Crackdown

Around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 25, on charges of driving under the influence (DUI) after his vehicle slammed into another car that was making a left turn onto Sanders Road. of the second car.

That arrest was just one of 24 arrests made during  that ran through Sept. 5, according to Traffic Officer Christopher Lacina. Last year, the department made seven DUI arrests during a nationwide campaign to reduce drunken driving. 

The local arrest numbers were up so far this year due to a nearly $10,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation, which allowed Northbrook to devote extra police officers to the task of arresting drivers who were impaired by alcohol or other substances. 

“It lets officers focus strictly on DUI enforcement,” Lacina told Patch.

The importance of DUI enforcement is underscored by the numbers. In 2009, more than 10,000 people were killed nationwide in crashes involving a driver or motorcyclist whose blood alcohol content (BAC) was at or exceeded a state's legal limit, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Illinois, that level is 0.08 percent.

As a member of a regional Major Crash Assistance Team, Lacina has seen several accidents throughout the area that resulted from drunken driving, including ., according to police.

When it comes to saving lives, wearing a seat belt is just as important as using a designated driver, Lacina said. “A lot of lives would be saved if people did wear their seat belt,” he said.

In May, Northbrook police also participated in a two-week-long safety belt enforcement campaign. Those campaigns have been successful over the years, according to Lacina, who noted that police now issue fewer tickets for seat belt violations. 

“Motorists have definitely gotten better at wearing their seat belts,” he wrote in an e-mail in June.

Still, he said, as a traffic officer, he encounters plenty of people who haven’t buckled up. They offer a range of excuses, varying from “I forgot” to “I don’t think it should be a law, and therefore I will not wear it.”

“I have to tell you, I would much rather hear the excuses from people now than for them to get in a terrible crash where they can no longer give me excuses,” Lacina wrote. 

To see a list of DUI arrests made between Aug. 19 and Sept. 5, when police conducted their crackdown, check out the  reports that were published in Northbrook Patch on Aug. 26, Aug 30, Sept. 7 and Sept. 13. In all incidents where an arrest occurred, a charge is merely an accusation and not evidence of guilt. The arrested person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.