The Hardest-Working Paper in America | 
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
News Transportation

State Police offer tips for safe driving during the holidays

By  Mitch Dudek
   
SHARE State Police offer tips for safe driving during the holidays
TRAFFIC_CST_122514_1_999x540.jpg

Lt. Mike Witt of the Illinois State Police presides at a rainy news conference on Christmas Eve. | Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times

Be merry! And drive safe!

It was the message Illinois State Police troopers wanted everyone to hear Wednesday morning before thousands of motorists hit the road to get to their holiday destinations.

With rain, sleet, and snow in the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day forecasts, Lt. Mike Witt offered a few helpful reminders:

• Allow extra time to get to your destination. • Slow down. • Increase the distance between your car and the car in front of you. • Don’t make sudden lane changes. • Put your phones away while driving. • And, above all, don’t drink and drive.

He noted that the top causes for accidents are speed, distracted driving and lane changes.

“Be courteous on Christmas,” Witt said during a rainy news conference held between the northbound and southbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway — at an accident-investigation site, which is precisely the kind of place he does not want motorists to end up during the holidays.

“If you are involved in an accident, get to a safe location, exchange information with other drivers and call 911 for assistance from the state police,” he said.

Witt also suggested folks make sure their tires are properly inflated before hitting the roadways.

“I really think we can have a safe and merry Christmas,” he said.

Next Up In News
Netflix looks to curb password sharing, considers ads
Aiming to predict COVID, future pandemics better, CDC opens infectious diseases forecasting center
Joliet farmers wrangle cows thrown from semitrailer after crash on Interstate 80
1 killed, 3 wounded in shootings Tuesday in Chicago
Obama relatives sue Milwaukee school alleging racial bias
Unmasked transit: Pritzker ends mask mandates in public transportation, airports
The Latest
Kansas City Royals v Chicago White Sox - Game Two
White Sox
White Sox break six-game losing streak, cap wonky week with doubleheader split vs. Royals
Sox go 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position, score 4 runs, but pull out doubleheader split
By Daryl Van Schouwen
 
Screen Shot 2024-04-17 at 7.39.09 PM.png
Education
What does Springfield's selective enrollment bill mean for Chicago Public Schools?
The proposed legislation is the latest and most significant backlash to a declaration in December by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Board of Education that it would no longer prioritize selective schools and would refocus resources to neighborhood schools that have faced years of cuts and under-funding.
By Nader Issa
 
Congress Expressway-2.jpg
Columnists
City gets $2 million federal grant to address damage to the West Side by the Eisenhower Expressway
The apartment where Lynn Sweet’s father once lived was demolished to make way for the expressway. President Joe Biden has launched a new program to reconnect communities split by expressways such as the Eisenhower.
By Lynn Sweet
 
MASSSHOOTINGVIGIL-041624-11.jpg
Editorials
When a 9-year-old is gunned down, we must keep sounding the alarm against gun violence
We’ve written time and time again about the scourge of gun violence in Chicago and elsewhere. Sometimes it feels as if we have nothing left to say. But the murder of another child, Ariana Molina, is reason to keep speaking out.
By CST Editorial Board
 
iHeartRadio Y100's Jingle Ball 2023 - Show
Things To Do
Things to do in Chicago April 18-25 — The Mix
Concerts by Nicki Minaj, Leslie Odom Jr. and Suzanne Vega, the CineYouth Film Festival and Congo Square Theatre’s staging of “How I Learned What I Learned” are among the entertainment highlights in the week ahead.
By Mary Houlihan - For the Sun-Times