Southern Illinois state police units to crack down on speeding Wednesday

Be aware, drivers - extra Illinois State Police patrols will be on the roads Wednesday, as southern Illinois troopers take part in the 2017 Illinois Speed Awareness campaign. More troopers will be pulling drivers over for speeding throughout the region.

For southern Illinois ISP districts, however, today's enforcement is just another piece of a larger plan to dramatically reduce the number of accidents on I-57 and Route 13, two of the region's biggest thoroughfares.

Trooper Christopher "Joey" Watson, safety education officer for District 13, said the state police are in the midst of a long-term fatality reduction and safety awareness campaign, focused like a laser on I-57 and Route 13.

A few reasons why:

A 30 percent increase in crashes on I-57 and Route 13, comparing May 20-July 20, 2016 to the same two months in 2017.

According to IDOT traffic counts, in June 2017 there were 1,290,191 vehicles on I-57 between Marion and Johnston city.

The probability of death, disfigurement, or debilitating injury grows with higher speed at impact. Consequences double for every 10 mph over 50 mph.

When a vehicle crashes, its speed drops rapidly but the occupants keep moving until they are stopped, either by hitting something or by being restrained by a safety belt or air bag.

Speeding, while responsible for 34.2 percent of all Illinois traffic fatalities in 2015, isn't even the biggest problem, Watson said. Distracted driving is the biggest killer of the "fatal four," - which also includes impaired driving and not wearing seat belts.

A University of Iowa study released just last month reveals that even drivers who are talking on their phones legally - using a blue tooth, have both hands on the wheel and are not talking while in a construction zone - fall victim to "attention disengagement" that can have serious repercussions.

Watson said the state police are enforcing the "fatal four" on I-57 and Route 13 the best they can, but it all comes down to how invested people are in being safe as possible while driving.

"At the end of the day, it's a choice," he said Tuesday. "We are asking the public to focus everything they've got on driving that car and driving it safely. Those (statistics) in the spread sheet are families."

For information about Illinois Speed Awareness Day, visit www.illinoisspeedawarenessday.org.