Rock Falls officers issue citations on Speed Awareness Day

The Rock Falls, Illinois Police Department joined law enforcement officers from 11 states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska) on July 26 in this year’s NHTSA Region 5 high visibility Speed Awareness Day enforcement campaign, a news release says.

Rock Falls Police Officers issued a total of 26 citations during the campaign, with 23 of those citations for speed related violations. The speed awareness day campaign had a twofold approach: to combine increased, zero-tolerance enforcement with effective communication to road users on the importance of obeying the speed limit. 

This one-day speed enforcement event was a partnership coordinated by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, participating state highway safety offices and their respective law enforcement liaisons. The initiative was held in July because data and studies show that the most fatal crashes where speed is a contributing factor occur between June and September.

“The hard work of our officers in these enforcement efforts was instrumental in preventing injuries and saving lives,” said Rock Falls Police Chief Dave Pilgrim. “We want to remind the public that speed is one of the leading contributing factors to fatal traffic crashes and deaths. There is never a good reason for a motorist to exceed the speed limit and endanger others.”

NHTSA early crash data estimates for 2022 shows a marginal decrease of 0.3% in traffic crash deaths when compared to 2021 data. Nationally, 42,795 people lost their lives in 2022 compared to 42,939 in 2021.      

In 2021 there were 5,410 fatal crashes in the six-state NHTSA Region 5 area with 1,780 (32.90%) being speed related fatalities. This represented an increase of 6% from 2020. The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness and save lives. There is no reason to speed, it is unnecessary and endangers everyone on the road. 

For more information, please visit .