Palos Park Police Will Be Out in Force on Halloween Combating Drunken Driving

The Palos Park Police Department is warning drivers that when it comes to drinking and driving on Halloween, they mean business. 

The department is participating in a campaign dubbed "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over." Officers will be making a concerted effort to take drunk drivers off the road. 

“The scariest part of Halloween is not the spooky costumes and scary pranks, it’s drunk drivers.  All too often, partygoers don’t plan ahead and choose to drive after drinking, but a costume can’t disguise drunk driving,” said Chief Joe Miller, in a news release. 

The department cited a statistic from the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that says from 2007 to 2011, 52 percent of all national fatalities occurring on Halloween night involved a drunk driver.

The news release continues: 

Young men are particularly at risk of being involved in a traffic crash as a result of "buzzed" or drunk driving. Males ages 21-34 comprised almost half of all drunk drivers who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide during the 2011 Halloween period.  A sober and safe ride after the party is the best treat you can give yourself and everyone else on the road thisHalloween in Palos Park.

To keep safe this Halloween, Palos Park Police recommend these tips:

• Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night.

• If you are impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, use public transportation or sleep it off at the party location.

• Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving.  Designate a sober friend to walk you home.

• Use your community’s sober ride program, Call us, we will get them home safely

• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.

• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride after drinking, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going.