No holiday for traffic safety

ELGIN -- A drunken driver "blew" on a Breathalyzer nearly three times the legal limit early Saturday morning, after he was stopped by police running extra patrols this holiday weekend.

Another driver, pulled over during a safety check Thursday in downtown Elgin, ended up having his car towed away when he became belligerent and began "blasting his tunes" said Elgin police Officer Matt Udelhoven.

Both men were ticketed, and their vehicles towed, this long holiday weekend as Elgin police have stepped up patrols, on the prowl for drunker drivers.

In Illinois, a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent is enough to get a driver cited for DUI.

The stepped-up enforcement began Thursday night, when officers conducted safety checks downtown. Cars -- six at a time -- were asked to pull into the otherwise empty Pace bus station on Highland Avenue at the Fox River. If drivers had on their seat belts, showed their license, proof of insurance and current license tabs, they were sent on their way with minimal interruption.

However, officers also caught several people driving without a license or proof of insurance, or with suspended or revoked driver's licenses. Many of those driver's were ticketed or arrested -- depending on the violation.

On Friday night into Saturday morning, four officers were patrolling, specifically looking for drivers who might be under the influence. Officers will be doing extra patrols through early Tuesday morning, on the lookout for people who drank too much at their New Year's Eve party or Bears-Packer game gathering.

Elgin police conduct safety checks several times each year, said Sgt. Tom Olson of the department's traffic division. The stops, he said, are minimal for those who are driving legally.

Sgt. Glenn Theriault was working on Highland Avenue, waving cars into the Pace terminal. His job was to note whether the driver and passenger were wearing their seat belts -- one strip of tape went on the window if the driver wasn't wearing one, and another piece of tape if the passenger wasn't either.

He also told the officers conducting the checks if the driver, realizing what lay ahead of him on Highland, attempted to turn around on the one-way street before realizing he had nowhere to go.

Most of those who were pulled in were fine and understood the reason for the safety check, Olson said.

But Udelhoven said some people get irate, too.

One man who had his car towed originally faced just a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. As Udelhoven walked away to write the ticket, the man became irate, saying he was in a hurry, and started blaring his car's horn, then turning up the stereo.

Udelhoven, who often runs patrols looking for cars violating Elgin's loud music ordinance, went and got a laser gun that measures distance, walked about 150 feet away, and determined he could still hear the man's stereo.

So, instead of a $20 ticket (if paid at the Elgin Police Department) for a seat belt violation, the man faces a $250 noise ordinance fine and perhaps another $250 in towing and impound fees.

"He got home in a hurry -- on foot," said Lt. Jeff Adam.

Elgin received a state grant earlier this year to help pay the extra cost of officers working exclusively on traffic enforcement against drunken drivers, said Officer Steve Bianchi.

Officers on Friday night were working in shifts between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., the prime time to catch intoxicated drivers.

While intoxicated drivers can be found any time of the day or night, the peak is Friday and Saturday nights. Elgin officers working the detail may pull over one or two drunken drivers on any given night, Bianchi said.

Unlike some may believe, the officers don't hover outside bars at closing time, waiting for a hapless driver to pull away. But that doesn't mean they aren't aware of it, either.

Early on Friday, he focused his patrol on Elgin's major streets, such as McLean Boulevard, Big Timber Road, U.S. 20, Chicago Street.

Bianchi said he ended up with a pretty quiet night, adding he hoped it would stay that way for this New Year's weekend.